House of Cards
by Jazzmaster
Summary: Finally together with Chloe, Clark seems to be content for the first time in his life. But now there's a demon stalking him, and a powerful force sweeping through Metropolis, destroying everything in it's path...
1. Chapter 1

The demon found itself irresistibly drawn to Clark Kent. Unlike the other people in the lecture hall, it knew he was no regular student, was much more than just a mere farm boy. It could sense it. Even at a distance, it could almost taste his incredible power.

"… as time and again, humanity destroys that which it does not understand," continued Professor Milton Fine. The demon sensed something about Fine too, though it had not yet determined what he truly was. It's instincts – or perhaps it's master's voice, discreet and hidden, it could not be certain – warned it to stay away from Fine. Whatever he was, he could not kill the demon, but perhaps he could interfere with its plans for Kent. That could not be allowed.

"Look at William Golding's novel 'The Inheritors', in which we, the reader, feel sympathy for The Neanderthals, even as we realise it is us who are wiping them out. Golding fools us into taking sides with the kind of thing we so often despise. Don't you agree, Mr Kent?"

Clark, who The Demon knew had not been paying attention, looked startled momentarily. It supposed he had been daydreaming about Chloe Sullivan again. Young love, so exciting and new, could be a large distraction for humans. It looked forward to destroying that part of Clark's life most of all. One person close to him had already been brought under its influence, and another would follow soon. They wouldn't realise it of course, not until it was far too late for things to be stopped.

"Um, I've never actually read it," he said.

"Of course not," said Fine with some distain. "Sometimes I think teaching you people comes at the price of my sanity. I'd advise you all to read it, and I'll be praying to St Jude that you do."

That signalled the end of the lesson, but as the demon tried to leave, Fine called it over.

"I don't remember seeing you in any of my classes during the first few weeks," said Fine, almost cheerfully.

"I was transferred here just recently."

"Ah, I see. Well allow me to offer you a belated welcome. And while you're here, I'll ask you to keep in mind that college has enough… distractions… without you spending my lessons eyeing the back of Mr Kent's head."

"Oh… I see. I didn't realise it was so obvious. I was still paying attention though; your lecture was quite fascinating. I'll be sure to read that book."

"I'm glad to hear it," said Fine, turning his back and gathering up some of his things. The demon resisted the urge to snap his neck; it was curious to see what would happen. It still couldn't help but feel on edge around him though. He spent time with Kent after classes sometimes… it wasn't sure it liked that much. Still, for now it had other concerns. It needed to feed. Fine wasn't a suitable candidate, but there were no shortage of people on campus who would suffice.

"Come on, Clark, I need you," hissed Chloe as his phone continued to ring out. She'd been trying to get hold of him for some time but he wasn't picking up. She was running out of time, she knew. And if that happened…

"Chloe?" she heard him say, sounding pleased to be hearing from her.

"Clark, thank God. I've been trying to reach you. Is everything all right?" she said, looking around nervously.

"Yeah, I just had my phone on silent when I was class. I guess I kind of forgot to set it back."

"Well that's great, Clark, because I really need you here right now." She lowered her voice. "I have a problem."

"Tell me where you are," said Clark, sounding concerned, but as strong as ever.

"I'm at my apartment," she said. She closed her eyes and hoped he would hurry.

He hurried. Before she even opened her eyes she knew he was there, could feel his presence. Wrapping her arms around him, she gave him a deep kiss, worry on his face turning to surprise.

"Chloe, you said this was an emergency," he said, taking her by the shoulders. She picked up her handbag and smiled at him.

"I didn't exactly say that now, did I? I said I had a problem, which I do, and I need my boyfriend along for moral support," she said, looking at him and frowning for a moment. "Uh, and they have a dress code where we're going, so you might want to nip home and change."

"What are you talking about? Look, this might be the kind of stunt Lois would pull if she knew I had powers, but I…"

"Expected better of me? Look I'm sorry, okay? It's just that I got roped into this assignment for The Planet I couldn't say no to. Not if I want to have any kind of career there anyway. It's not really my kind of thing, so I hoped you would come. You have a way of putting me at ease."

"You could have just asked me," he said. "I love spending time with you."

A few years ago she would have blushed madly at those words. Today she covered it perhaps only slightly better.

"Glad to hear it," she said taking his arm.

"So what's the assignment? You said it's not your kind of thing, so I'm guessing it's something normal for a change?"

"There's nothing normal about the world of celebrity, Clark. It's weirder than you could ever hope to be. I've been assigned to do a story on some budding young actress. Nobody's heard of her yet, but it seems like she has some pretty influential friends if The Planet's covering her."

"And The Planet forced the job onto you."

"Afraid so. We're going for dinner and drinks, and somehow I have to get enough from this girl for a full story. Well, I guess it won't be so bad if you're with me. For one night only I guess we're a reporting team again."

"Sounds good to me. I miss the time we spent at The Torch. Writing for that was one of the few things I could do without having any unfair advantages," he said.

"And speaking of those advantages, time to go get changed, Clark."

"Can't have me showing you up in front of some star no-one's heard of," muttered Clark, before speeding away.

Friday nights were always the same for Sophie. Meet up with a few friends, get sht-drunk, have a few laughs. Except lately drinking didn't seem to be helping her forget her troubles. Her friends were being chatted up by two guys; nothing too special, but what did that matter when she was paid no attention at all? She'd been left standing, feeling foolish, and her the only one who was any kind of celebrity at all! Any kind of somebody.

"What are you looking so sad about, love?" asked one of the guys, eyes bloodshot, feet unsteady. "Get a few more drinks down you!"

Sophie blushed slightly, but fortunately the bar area was dark enough no-one noticed. Not that anyone was looking at her anyway – the drunkard's attention was back on Annie (and his hand back on her ass.) She hadn't realised she looked sad at all, and her an actress. An actress with friends in the right places, who was actually going somewhere. Not at all like Annie, who waited tables or Lindsey who claimed to work in retail but Sophie suspected was actually a hooker.

She certainly wasn't shy, whispering into her own admirer's ear in between bouts of lip-locking. Probably asking him back to her place, thought poor forgotten Sophie, or even just to the toilets or the alley out back. There the clumsy, embarrassed fumbling could really begin. She angrily wondered where the reporter from The Planet was. She was late, and Sophie was in half a mind to call the office and demand to know where she was.

Looking around, she realised with some horror that nobody in the place was paying her any attention. Here she was, attractive, young, friend of A-list stars and soon to be one of said list herself. Yet no-one was noticing her, no-one was trying to chat her up, nobody was even feeling sorry for her.

No, she realised, that could be right. Of course some, if not most, of the men here had noticed her. Yet her looks were too much for them; she appeared unobtainable in their eyes. They were afraid to make a move. That's all it was. She pushed her way to the bar. That drunken prck was right, she should get a few more drinks down her. That suddenly felt like a right and most excellent idea. And was that a hot-looking guy standing alone at the bar? It most certainly was, and he just might be in luck tonight.

Before she could inform him how lucky he was though, she saw Sullivan make her way in. She was dressed professionally, though Sophie had to concede she had an easy beauty to her. Disgustingly, Sullivan didn't even appear aware of it. Worse, some man was clinging to her arm. Why was he here? Did Sullivan feel the need to rub her man in everyone's face?

"Sophie, hi!" said Chloe, offering her hand. "This is Clark, my boyfriend. I hope you don't mind me bringing him along. I thought you were here with friends? Where are they?"

"Never mind," said Sophie impatiently. Clark was smiling at her. Sophie's heart fluttered just a little; he was a good looking guy certainly. Probably a model or something. Someone like that was wasted on Sullivan. Perhaps he could be convinced of that.

"Our table's in the back," she said, leading them through. "This place is pretty dead tonight."

"I guess," said Chloe, in a voice that suggested it looked packed and lively to her. Still, their standards would be vastly different.

They took their seats at a table set for five, but she didn't think her friends would be joining her. She offered Clark a winning smile. It was supposed to let him know she was interested; he didn't appear to be picking up on that. What the hell was it supposed to take? A flash of a shtting nipple?

Jonathan Kent was in the grip of some terrible nightmare, or so a dim part of his mind told him. He was sitting with a beer in his hand, and he wasn't sure why. He hardly ever drank. A young girl was sitting in front of him, smiling sweetly at him. She looked about Clark's age, slim but still looking as if she possessed a great deal of strength. Her eyes looked grey in the diminished light of The Kent living room. He didn't know where Martha was, and didn't understand why a voice in the back of his mind was hoping she stayed away.

"I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?" he asked. The whole situation felt totally surreal.

"I'm Sarah. I'm a friend of Clark's," she said. Her voice was neutral, but her eyes twinkled with amusement – or so Jonathan thought. But why would that be?

"I see. Well, Clark's not here right now. He's in Metropolis with his girlfriend…"

"I know where he is. I always know," she said. She took his hand then, and though his head felt foggy, he thought there was something strange about the way she felt.

"How could you possibly…"

"Shh. Do you see a picture of a man in your mind right now?"

Through the fog, he could see someone. He recognised the man immediately, though he didn't know him all that well.

"Yes," he heard himself say.

"Quite soon you are going to meet this man in the flesh. When you do, I want you to kill him. Will you kill him? Will you do this favour for a friend of your son's?"

"Yes," whispered Jonathan.

"Rude to whisper!" said Sarah loudly. She released Jonathan's hand and sat back, looking pleased.

"I'm about to start telling a story, Mr Kent. Some of it will be in words, but much of it will be visual. Parts of it will be interactive, requiring audience participation. Although there won't be an audience for long, I guess; pretty soon everybody will be involved on stage. You, Chloe, that strange reporter fellow… your son too. And let's not forget dear Sophie. You don't know her, but she's finally appearing in something other than those shtty TV movies of hers. Does that all sound like fun to you?"

Her eyes widened with delight, encouraging a response from him. None came.

"Don't feel like answering?" The girl laughed and shook her head. "It's a good story, Mr Kent. All about love and pain; good and evil, damnation and redemption. The ending lets it down a little, I fear. No-one lives happily ever after. No-one lives happily at all. Hell, a lot of them don't even live."

She giggled at this point, walking over to the window and staring across the horizon. Feeling like he'd been drugged, Jonathan tried to get up, to focus his thoughts. He already seemed to be forgetting everything that just happened. He didn't understand why, but he thought that might be dangerous. For himself, for his son, and for the man he was forgetting he'd been told to kill.

Chloe's father, Gabe Sullivan.


	2. Chapter 2

Buying a few drinks for someone was a popular investigative technique, though not necessarily one they taught you at University. It was helpful for putting the subject at ease, and if lucky could put them off guard. You never knew what kind of thing might slip through. Tonight though, Chloe reckoned Sophie had already had enough. She'd clearly been drunk since before they'd arrived.

"So tell me a little about yourself, Clark. What exactly is it that you do? You're certainly not a journalist," said Sophie, who was fingering his shirt sleeves. Clark was managing to look embarrassed. He was actually looking for her to help! Couldn't he just tell her to back off?

"I hate to interrupt, but I'd really like to get started on that interview. We have uh, a lot to get through," Chloe said.

"Well, I'm glad you have your priorities straight," she said, as though it were all Clark's fault they almost got sidetracked.

"Let's start off with a bit of background," she said, pulling her notes from her bag. She had little interest in the girl herself, but it was a journalist's job to be thorough.

"Hang on just a second, sweetie," said Sophie, standing up and walking over to the bar. Chloe groaned as she realised she was trying to chat a guy up. Clark looked a little relieved he was no longer the focus of her attention. Chloe thumped him on the arm.

"Careful," said Clark, grinning. "Nobody here knows you can't hurt me. They might start to think I have an abusive girlfriend."

"Well, no-one's going to accuse you of standing up for yourself. What was that about?"

"It's not as if I was reciprocating, Chloe. I just wanted to keep her onside. If I rejected her, she might have walked out of the interview."

"I think she already has," said Chloe with a sigh.

The hottie moved forward to talk to Sophie – a good sign. Except, she noticed, his eyes were roaming around the bar, on everything but her – a bad sign.

"Look, I should probably tell you – I have someone," he said.

"That doesn't bother me. Does it bother you?"

She moved in close to him now, lips hovering near his, eyes offering him the most seductive look she could manage after a few too many drinks.

They got to talking after that. She found him dull, but that was fine. That was no problem whatsoever. Wrapping her arm around him, she escorted him over to their table.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet… er, Tony, wasn't it?" she told them. "Look, this place just isn't working out. How about we all go on to a club or something?"

"Well, we could do that later," said Chloe quickly. "I mean, it'll be a little noisy there to conduct an interview…"

"Relax, we'll be in the VIP area. It won't be so bad there. Come on. You want to come, right Clark?"

"I'm not sure –"

"Great, that settles it. I know a great place not far from here."

Outside, she noticed Clark holding Chloe warmly, content merely to have the girl in his arms. Tony, on the other hand, was putting his hands all over her, and at one point his tongue went down her throat. And that was indeed fine and most excellent. His hands got busier than ever, to the embarrassment of Chloe and Clark.

"Maybe you two should slow down a bit," said Clark awkwardly. "I mean, you've both had a lot to drink…"

Sophie giggled. Tony was a hottie, that was for sure, but she'd no intention of taking things any further with him tonight. She'd learned that after the third or fourth time, to stop sleeping with a guy when she was stupidly drunk. Even so, she was a little disappointed after he stopped trying to fondle her.

It all started to go wrong when they arrived at the club.

"You're not getting in love – you're too drunk."

The bouncer was an Englishman, and at present he was blocking their way inside.

"That's bullsht. What the hell are you talking about?" she asked angrily. Sure, she might have had a few more drinks than planned, but she was still upright, wasn't she? Just because this guy was stuck out here all night… no way was she too drunk. There was no such thing as being too drunk in Metropolis.

"Look, what seems to be the problem?" asked Chloe, stepping forwards. As if she was worth sht! The only reason she'd even gotten as far as the door of a place like this was because of her!

"Too drunk," repeated the bouncer. His arms were folded nonchalantly, clearly not concerned with the two guys in front of him.

"You're too drunk to let us in?" asked Tony. Sophie snorted with disgust; did this idiot really think that was going to help? She was wondering why she'd ever asked this guy to come. A more sober part of her brain told her: because you didn't want to come alone.

"Just piss off, alright mate?"

Sophie put her finger in the bouncer's face.

"Is Angela in tonight? Tell her Sophie's here. She'll be furious when she finds you're keeping me out here in the cold."

"I doubt Angela gives a toss, personally. Get out of here, all of you."

"It's all right, Adam. There with me," came a husky female voice behind them. As far as the bouncer was concerned, that was the end of it. Felicia Cain was, after Angela, the biggest name in the place tonight, and if she wanted them in, they were in. Four minders accompanied Miss Cain as she entered. Sophie, drunk or not, was embarrassed, already picturing Felicia telling everyone what had happened. Angela first, and worst, of all.

Just a few blocks away, a man stood apparently staring into space. No-one else could see it, he marvelled, as cars drove past and people strode on oblivious. A kid hovered right at the edge of it, completely unaware of how close he was to crossing over.

The rift swelled ever so slightly, as if to draw the boy in.

"Hey, kid," said Dan. The boy turned, looking up at him warily. "Get away from there, it's dangerous."

The boy had no idea what he was talking about, of course, and stayed where he was. In that moment, something reached through and grabbed the boy. Before Dan could even move, the boy was gone. Someone laughed behind him. The demon, he knew. It called itself Sarah, but he rather doubted that was its true name.

"Stop pretending to care, Daniel."

"He was just a kid," he said, turning to look at the beautiful mask the creature wore. He had seen it's other face, it's true face, and it had been something terrible to hold.

"I know. But you don't care, not really. The echoes of your human memories are confusing you."

"Human memories? So what am I now then? A demon, like you? Or just a man without a soul?"

She grinned at him, a horrible hateful thing that did not belong on the face of anything human.

"You're my pet, of course. Clark Kent will be too, in time."

"It won't be the same though, will it? That's why you go to all those classes with him. You need to be around him. Some part of you is attracted to him."

"Don't presume to know me," said the demon. The rift seemed to widen around it, to stretch, to consume…

He wondered how long was left. In time, the gate to hell would swallow Metropolis whole. Nothing would be spared. And not even Clark could stop it, he knew…


	3. Chapter 3

Clark was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with everything that was happening. He felt totally out of his depth. Kal-El might have fitted in nicely here, but Clark Kent didn't really belong. After proper introductions had been made, Felicia offered to buy everyone drinks. She certainly seemed friendly enough, and she was more or less sober, unlike Sophie who was presently finding it difficult to stand up properly. She was being propped on Tony's shoulder.

"I guess it must be strange for you," said Chloe, apparently noticing Clark's discomfort. The music was so loud he had to use his special hearing to pick up what she said. "You spend your whole life trying to avoid the limelight, while these people would die if they didn't have it."

"Remember I took you to see one of Felicia's movies one time?" asked Clark, raising his voice. Chloe didn't have the advantage of superhearing.

"Yeah, though I don't remember much of what happened. As I recall, a certain someone couldn't keep his hands off of me."

"It was you that couldn't keep your hands off me," said Clark. Frowning for a moment, he added, "Not that I minded."

Grinning, she gave him a deep kiss, pulling back as Sophie, Tony and Felicia rejoined them. Sophie was swaying slightly. Clark thought she was probably going to be sick before much longer. It wasn't such a bad thing that alcohol couldn't affect him, he reflected.

"Got to stay professional, Miss Sullivan," teased Clark. Chloe rolled her eyes in mock annoyance.

"I'm telling you, it was just a misunderstanding," said Sophie. Clark guessed she was still talking about the incident with the bouncer. In her present state she appeared to be taking everything as a personal insult. He thought she must be pretty insecure to be acting this way. He found himself feeling a little sorry for her, despite the fact that she'd been a nuisance all evening.

"So you're both reporters from The Daily Planet?" Felicia asked, eyes taking in Clark and Chloe.

"No, she's the reporter. I'm a student and I help run my parents farm."

Felicia's look of interest was so obviously fake Clark wondered if she really was that great an actress. Sophie looked plain embarrassed.

"And what is it you do, Tony?" Felicia asked.

"Oh, I'm a cleaner," said Tony. Sophie cringed in horror. Felicia merely shrugged, but Clark thought he saw amusement behind her eyes. Sophie hissed in his ear. Felicia wouldn't have heard, and neither would Chloe, but he picked it up.

"Why would you tell her that!? Couldn't you tell her you were an ambulance driver, or researching a cure for AIDs or something? Couldn't you just lie like a normal person would have?"

"You take work where you can get it," said Felicia, almost as if she had heard after all. "Isn't that right, Sophie?"

"Yes," said Sophie through gritted teeth.

888

Sophie was annoyed that Felicia was paying so much attention to everyone else. She was also annoyed that Felicia was asking her man questions she did not know the answers to.

"You know boys, you would both be perfect for modelling work. I happen to know some people. I could put in a word for you."

"That'd be good," said Tony, knowing as well as Sophie that the offer was bullsht. Except it wasn't.

"I'll introduce you right now in fact."

Though her vision was somewhat blurred, she thought she saw Clark looking decidedly awkward about the whole thing. Chloe looked like she was loving it.

"I'm just going to get us some more drinks," she croaked, though neither Chloe nor Clark had touched theirs.

"Let me help you," said Chloe quickly. "Maybe you could answer a couple of quick questions?"

She was surprised to find how relieved she was by Sullivan's persistence. She was remembering standing alone in the bar feeling horrible. It just felt… nice to have someone pay her some notice. Even a complete loser like Sullivan.

"Vodka and orange, thanks sweetie," said Felicia. The woman wasn't even looking at her, as if she were a waitress or something.

"Beer for me please," said Tony, who did at least manage to look at her. It looked to Sophie however, completely devoid of the desire that had been there just a short time ago. He'd come across something better than a quick fumble; he'd happened upon what could be his big break.

She recited the order to the barman. At least, he was a guy standing behind the bar and not being removed from there. He didn't actually look like he belonged there, dressed as he was in a pair of jeans and a black Metallica t-shirt.

"Actually, I don't work here," he confided in her. "The name's Dan. Figured I'd step in here and keep an eye on things. At least I don't have to look at that nasty old rift anymore. I've seen enough of hell already."

Sophie opened her mouth before she realise she had no idea what to say to that. No-one else seemed to be paying any attention. Sullivan stood next to her, but hadn't heard him.

"I didn't have any trouble getting in, either. Bouncer let me straight on in, would you credit it? Of course… hey, isn't that your boyfriend?"

Sophie turned and saw Tony making out with Felicia. One of his hands (which sure got around, she thought) had slipped inside her dress. Right there in front of everyone! Did they just forget she was here or something? Sullivan was frowning at her.

"Quite a story, eh Sullivan?" she shrieked hysterically.

"Sophie, I really –"

"She kisses like a goddamn dolphin!" exclaimed the fake bartender in a voice loud enough to startle her. "Just like in her movies!"

888

Sophie shrugged off Chloe's attempts at sympathy. She guessed that was the last thing she wanted right now. The girl was walking towards the couple now, a drink in her hand. Chloe watched as she threw it over the smooching couple. It was only after that that she realised Clark was nowhere to be seen.

Felicia stepped back, gasping and wiping her now wet dress. Tony was looking around him like a man coming out of a dream. Bet you just can't believe your luck, thought Chloe.

"She's waiting for you outside, you know," she heard the bartender say behind her. She didn't realise he was talking to her though. She was too busy watching Felicia slap Sophie. Yes, she guessed she just about had enough for a story now. Only a few lines, but it was amazing how people snapped up gossipy stuff like this. To Chloe's mind, these people were even stranger than the ones who loved the stories about aliens and ghosts. And that was without taking into account the fact that she knew both those things existed.

Sophie was reeling from the blow, nursing her cheeks, unable to believe all of this was happening. For a moment she looked like she was going to smash the empty glass off Felicia's head, but she put it down instead. Nothing however, stopped her from grabbing Felicia's shoulders and throwing her to the ground.

"That's enough!"

The commanding voice wasn't so loud as the fake barman's, but it managed to scare Sophie more all the same. She turned to see Angela, her angelic face contorted with anger, standing surveying the scene. Angela was one of the biggest stars to ever come out of Metropolis. Few people short of Lex Luthor garnered more attention. She was the envy of women the world over. Chloe knew she had been friends with Felicia for years, and presumably Sophie for a little while too. She saw now how Sophie had gotten the attention of the Daily Planet.

"She… she…" said Sophie, but further words just weren't coming.

"You silly little girl," hissed Angela. Everyone was looking at Sophie now. Chloe reckoned that wasn't as great as Sophie once thought it would be.

"I-I'm sorry…"

Angela snorted at her and nodded to a large man next to her.

"Get her out of here."

He moved over and grasped Sophie's arm tightly. She tried to struggle but he was far stronger than her.

"Don't leave me alone," she said, so softly Chloe thought she was the only one who heard.

They dragged her out; she wasn't fighting anymore. But she wasn't moving under her own power either. It was as if she had been turned to stone. She was shoved forcefully through the door, Chloe following her, wondering where the hell Clark was.

The English bouncer grinned at them, his eyes telling her they knew this would happen, knew she was too drunk. Tears were running down the girl's cheeks before she had time to fight them back. Chloe's humane instincts overwrote her reporter's and she wrapped her arm around her back comfortingly.

"It's alright. It's not worth worrying about. Those people aren't your friends, Sophie," she said. "Just let me find Clark and we'll make sure you get home safe."

"I'm so lonely," said Sophie in between sobs. Chloe steered her along the alley under the watchful gaze of the bouncer. Beyond that, the main street was empty. There were a few parked cars, but no sign of any people.

888

From its vantage point, the demon watched them both. Humming tunelessly to itself, it got ready to begin the hunt.

The night was so full of promise, it mused.


	4. Chapter 4

A more sober part of Sophie's mind was screaming at her right about then. Somehow things had all managed to go horribly wrong in the blink of an eye. Now she was out here in the cold with only a lowly Planet employee who was struggling to help her walk. Chloe was a fairly small girl, and she wasn't being much help.

"Let's just try to find a cab," said Chloe. "I'll call Clark after to let him know where we are."

That should have been a simple enough task, but there was no sign of any taxis when they reached the main road. In fact, there was no sign of any traffic at all, only a group of parked vehicles. The only sounds were from back the way they'd come; cheering, music and laughter.

"They're probably having a good laugh at me," said Sophie. Sophie, who took semi-pornographic roles in crappy low budget horror films because she couldn't find work elsewhere. Who hung out with big name stars even though they looked down on her completely and utterly.

"I'm sure things will look better in the morning," said Chloe, who was looking around anxiously.

"I don't need them," said Sophie bitterly. "I can make it on my own."

A voice inside laughed at that, because she'd never managed to do much on her own before.

Something shuffled out from under one of the cars. She felt a startled Chloe press against her for a moment before she recovered. Sophie almost burst out laughing. Sullivan being scared by a dog or something. It had moved a little too fast for her to be certain.

"Shouldn't there be some members of the press here?" asked Chloe suddenly.

"Well, they usually follow that bitch Angela around everywhere," agreed Sophie. "They might have gotten a picture: Dolphin-kissing Felicia on the left, gorgeous pouting Angela in the middle, and who-the-hell is that on the right."

"Right…" said Chloe, frowning. "Well, if there's a problem, I guess… someone is dealing with it."

"Clark's really sweet, you know. Getting all protective of me like that before. You're a lucky girl, even if he is a nobody."

Sullivan gave a somewhat ambiguous smile at that, and caught Sophie as she almost lost her footing. It was then she heard breathing from behind her, at around ankle height. Probably whatever had crawled out from under the car. She turned to take a look at it, Sullivan having to help turn her. There was nothing there, but –

Something tore through her left shoulder. She screamed in pain and shock, her impaled body shuddering, twisting the thing. Now she could see something in front of her; it looked like a large, sharpened yellow bone.

Sullivan had lost her grip as her body shook, and Sophie dimly noticed the look of horror on her face through her own terror. Her own blood had splashed over Chloe's hands. The reporter recovered quickly though, and began to try to pull Sophie off. She could feel a cold hand stroking her hair, and her body convulsed in agony. Perhaps also in disgust, but agony was apparently winning the battle at the moment.

"Clark, please help us!" screamed Chloe, struggling to remove the implement. Sophie realised that Sullivan could see whatever it was behind her. She could only hear it, hear the mad gibbering noises it was making behind her, and feel it's saliva dripping on the back of her neck. It burned her skin as it hit.

888

Chloe was aware that the best chance for her own survival was to run, and leave Sophie there to die, but she just couldn't do that. She had to believe that Clark would come through. But there was no telling where Clark was, or what might have happened to him. She could see parts of the creature behind Sophie. It looked vaguely humanoid, but its skin was grey and slimy. One large eye looked at her, the bluest eye she had ever seen with a horribly over-sized pupil.

She struggled to free Sophie, but despite using all her strength it just wasn't enough. The thing behind seemed to be grinning at her. Suddenly the bones receded and Sophie fell to her knees, causing Chloe to overbalance. Blood flew everywhere, splattering over her dress, not that it really mattered much now. Chloe struggled to her feet, seeing Sophie trying to crawl forwards, sobbing, trying to scream for help. Her voice failed her, much as it had when Angela had appeared.

"Clark!" yelled Chloe again. A figure ran forwards from the alley, but she instantly knew it wasn't Clark; if he'd heard the fear in her voice he'd have been running much faster. She recognised the bouncer as he sprinted out, his eyes everywhere, trying to find the danger.

Instead, it found him. The blood covered bone, end sharpened to a point, slammed through his throat. The creature held it there for a moment, pinning him to the wall, laughing as his body jerked. Chloe started to run. She had no plan other than to try and grab Sophie and escape. The monster spun furiously, catching her with a furious blow to the side of the head that almost shattered her skull. She fell, barely conscious, to the ground.

"What is it? What the hell is it?" she whispered to herself. She was battling to stay awake, but could see Sophie trying to drag herself back along the alley, moving as fast as she could. Oh Clark, please...

It grabbed Sophie's ankle. The girl didn't look back, instead kicking out furiously with all her strength. Whatever it was, it lost it's grip, and Sophie squirmed onwards, moaning at the pain in her shoulder, leaving a trail of blood behind her. She almost made it to the door of the club… then she was pulled back. It spun her onto her back this time, and Sophie screamed as she got a good look at it. Its claws raked across her chest, tearing her open and almost ripping her intestines out. Chloe kept begging Clark to come and help, even during all the time it took for the creature to kill poor Sophie.


	5. Chapter 5

One of Clark's senses were lying to him. Both his vision and super hearing abilities were things he had come to rely upon more and more frequently, and now it was difficult to remember ever being without them. But nothing like this had ever happened before.

He'd left the club when he heard a young boy screaming in terror. There had been no time to tell Chloe what was happening – he'd never heard someone so afraid in his whole life. The screaming sounded almost… insane. Now he was here, right where his hearing told him the sound was coming from. But there was nothing there. Scanning the area with his vision revealed nothing that helped him.

Adjusting his hearing slightly, he focused on the boy's heartbeat. He winced slightly as he heard it; it was beating so fast, Clark was surprised the boy hadn't died of fright already.

But there was no boy!

Expanding the range of the area he was tuned into, he hoped he might find some clue as to what was going on. He couldn't have known what a mistake this was. Screaming, he fell to his knees as suddenly a chorus of a thousand voices were shrieking, overwhelming him completely. It wasn't the noise that was the worst part though. The worst part was the despair and sorrow that each one held.

888

Picking herself up with sheer force of will, Chloe began to run, not daring to look behind her. She knew what fate was in store for her if she were caught. Getting into the club would have been good, but as the demon was currently blocking the way (and probably even harsher than the dead bouncer) that wasn't an option. Besides which, if it followed her in a lot of people could get hurt. Picking a house out without even really thinking about it, she pounded on the door, screaming at the top of her voice. As if her throat weren't already sore enough.

A bemused looking man in his mid-thirties opened the door.

"What the hell do –"

Journalists were used to having to people slamming doors in their faces, and Chloe couldn't afford that this time. Barging her way past him, she quickly shut the door.

"We have to barricade ourselves in and call for help. I'm sorry to drag you into this, but I didn't know what else to do," she said breathlessly.

"Listen lady, I don't know who you think you are…"

"Wait, there aren't any children in the house, are there?"

"No, there's only me," the man replied, caught off guard.

"Call the police. Even if it's just to report that a crazy girl has forced her way into your house, get them here," she said, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket.

"Can't you just call them on that?"

"I need to call someone else," she replied, quickly bringing up Clark's name.

Something slammed against the door, knocking it off its hinges. Chloe saw the monster in the light for the first time, saw its powerful frame and apelike arms. Its skin was scaly, like an alligator's. From its mouth little bits of Sophie's flesh were hanging like decorations.

"Out the back!" she yelled, although a part of her was already horribly certain that they were trapped.

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Clark finally let his hearing return to normal. If he'd had to listen to that for much longer, he would almost certainly have gone insane. He'd never heard anything like that before. What on earth was happening?

"Ah, the bastard son of Krypton," said a voice behind him. Clark spun, eyes wide with shock at hearing that name, and used so casually.

"Krypton?" asked Clark, determined to learn how much the figure knew.

"Your home planet," said the stranger cheerfully.

"I don't know who you are, or what you're talking about," said Clark, with all the strength he could manage. It was turning out to be a long night.

"Name's Dan, and you don't want to play the fool with me, son. There are no secrets from the dead."

888

Chloe split off from the stranger, pretty sure that it was her that this nightmare was after. Vaulting over a fence, she could hear ragged, almost erotic, breathing behind her. She heard the sound of the fence splintering apart as the creature ran right through it. Her heart felt like it was probably about to explode, but she had no intention of slowing down.

But she stumbled. Even as she fell, she half expected Clark to catch her, pulling off one more last second rescue. None came, and she hit the ground hard. She spun, knowing she was dead, and then something unexpected happened. The thing leapt straight over her.

Accelerating onwards, making some of the strangest sounds Chloe had ever heard, it ran back the way they had come. Straight into the crowded nightclub. The screaming began.


	6. Chapter 6

"What did you do to all those people?" asked Clark. Dan noted the strength in the youth's voice. In that moment, he seemed much older than his years. He was amused to learn how difficult he found it to stare the boy down.

"Me? No, those people did that to themselves. Well, apart from a few who wandered too close…"

"You better start talking."

"A reckoning then? All right, let's share a few truths as men, as equals. Do you ever dream, Clark? Do aliens dream as men do? Demons don't dream, at least I don't think they do."

In an instant, Clark sped up to him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off his feet like he were nothing.

"You're not making any sense. I can hear those people, but I can't see them. I have to help them."

Dan's expression never changed.

"In the dream, I see you. I see you with it, and you have become it's champion, it's hero. You wear a crown of fire on your head, and Metropolis is yours, it's gift to you. You rule over the people, and those screams you hate so much now… they make you laugh, Clark."

"Did Jor-El send you?" asked Clark, narrowing his eyes.

"Never met the man, but I doubt the dream matches his vision for you. Now, I can't tell you if my dream is prophecy of not. Dreaming is a strange thing. We can rewrite our whole lives for just a few short minutes, believing in what we see entirely…"

Shaking him with frustration, Dan braced himself to be tossed like a sack of garbage… but Clark held him steady.

"You know the worst part, Clark? Seeing the belief in that young girl's eyes, even as you struck her dead. Even then, she still believed in you. What was her name again? Chloe Sullivan?"

"I would never hurt Chloe. But I can't say the same for you. And if you really are dead, then I don't have to worry about killing you, do I?"

A smirk passed across Dan's lips.

"I guess not."

It stayed there even as Clark hit him with the hardest punch he'd ever felt. If he'd been alive, blood would have been flowing from the corner of his mouth, but the circulation had ended with his life. The youth moved forward, presumably to continue his assault, but stopped as the sound of a phone ringing was heard.

"Chloe?" asked Clark, picking up quickly while keeping an eye on the floored Dan. "Chloe!"

"I wouldn't –"

"If anything's happened to her… you're going to wish you could die," said Clark coldly, before speeding off. Dan laughed bitterly. He wished as much already. But Clarky boy was in bigger trouble than he knew. Magic could hurt him, after all. As he got back to his feet, he looked up into the sky. And what was that he saw emerging from the rift? A bird? A plane? Or something far more sinister?

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Chloe ran into the club with some difficulty, since the people closest to the door were presently trying their hardest to get out. Scrabbling with her phone again, she called on the police and for ambulances, keeping her reasoning as vague as possible. People were going to be hurt, she knew, whether by the stampeding people or the monster itself. And even Clark couldn't do much for someone already injured, save for speeding them to the hospital.

The people further in the back were slower to realise what was going on. As chaos spread, panic took control and people began to run without even knowing why. Chloe wondered dimly why she'd run in here, since there wasn't anything she could possibly hope to do. It was what Clark would have done though, even if it looked hopeless.

So why wasn't he?

She caught sight of the monster, recognising also a struggling Tony who was being dragged across the bar by the roof of his mouth. Several of his teeth had been pulled out by it, blood dribbling from his mouth. He fell behind the bar where he did not return from. She tried to push her way over there, almost being knocked off her feet as people went past.

Over to her right, actress Felicia was getting no special treatment, as a panicked crowd ran over her. Chloe knelt down to help, eyes widening in horror as she realised the young woman's neck had slammed off the side of the bar as she fell and been broken. Trying not to panic herself now, Chloe noticed Angela, the host of the evening standing at the centre of the dance floor. And she didn't look frightened at all. If anything, she looked slightly annoyed that she was no longer the centre of attention. Then a group of minders huddled around her protectively and ushered her to a side exit.

The creature ran to a group apparently too seized by fear to run. Chloe shouted at them to move, knowing it was already too late…

Something blurred across the room, and the apelike monster was sent hurtling across the club, smashing violently against bottles and glasses stacked behind the bar.

"Clark!" shouted Chloe, running towards him. She was almost there when a thunderous bolt of what she could only describe as energy tore the bar in two, continuing onwards until it slammed against Clark. For a moment he pressed against it as if to send it back, then he fell to his knees. Chloe slipped under the force of impact, protecting herself as she fell, remembering Felicia's dead eyes and broken neck.

The creature leapt over what remained of the bar, snarling at them… then it ran for the exit, removing anything that got in it's path, tossing people aside. Chloe stared at it for a moment, then crawled to where Clark lay, with blood smeared across his chest…


	7. Chapter 7

Money and fame didn't make Perry White uncomfortable. These were things the job brought you into contact with. You were allowed to touch that world and know you were not a part of it. And that was fine. Right now, however, it was his teeth that were bringing him discomfort. Anything sweet these days set his teeth off something awful. His dentist kept insisting there was nothing wrong; even x-rays failed to show anything.

People kept bringing cakes. Angela, sprawled on a sofa opposite him, was gorging herself. Perry wondered dimly how she managed to keep her trim figure if this was a regular thing. Now that was a story that would sell papers. His teeth complained as he bit into another sweet cake, but he felt he couldn't refuse. She glared at him accusingly any time he stopped eating.

That's it Mr White, have another cake. I want to hear you screaming before the day's out!

"So you saw this creature yourself?" he asked, mouth still half full.

"I certainly saw something, but really Perry, a 'creature'? I know you've fallen a long way, but to believe in some fairy story…"

"I know it sounds crazy," said Perry, offering a fake smile at the 'fallen a long way' line. "But there's an awful lot of people putting that story forwards. Too many for me to discount completely, if I'm honest."

"Betraying your true feelings? A mistake for a journalist, surely?"

"Can you describe what you did see?"

She shrugged, flicking her hair back as if to denounce the importance of the conversation.

"Really now, do you expect me to act like those simpletons, talking about monsters and such? The papers would love that, wouldn't they? Fame is a slippery slope Perry, but so far, my reputation is spotless. I'm not going to damage that by giving you some nonsense to take to print."

"Betraying your true feelings? A mistake for an actress, surely?" said Perry snidely.

"Perhaps I could remind you, Mr White, that two of my friends were killed in that club last night?"

Swallowing a mouthful of cream cake, Perry winced just slightly. He certainly wasn't ingratiating himself here. Just that old White charm in effect once again. He'd met a nice woman named Alice a little while back, had started dating her, and thought something special was happening there. Yet he always felt he was waiting for himself to screw things up.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm an ashole," he said. If he kept up at his current rate, he might leave with no story, or maybe even constantly have sweet cakes forced upon him until he sobbed with pain.

"Would you like some more tea?" she asked, looking satisfied. "Or perhaps something stronger?"

"Tea's fine thanks. I'm trying to cut back," he replied. Actually he'd cut back entirely, but did not feel the need to try and explain that to Angela. Part of him that would always be an alcoholic regretted saying that. Another part regretted it because she'd probably have five sugars put in his tea.

"I'll have it brought right along," she said, smiling sweetly. Her moods were changing so quickly, Perry could believe she was playing a role right at this moment. But then, actors were always that way with the press. "And try not to embarrass yourself with crazy stories, Perry. It was clearly some kind of escaped animal, that's all."

Perry nodded. That was what the police thought too, no matter how much the witnesses stressed otherwise. Himself, he liked to keep his mind open. His time in Smallville a couple of years back had shown how dangerous it could be to jump too quickly to conclusions.

And there was something he didn't like about Angela, he mused to himself as they continued the interview.

888

Clark could hear his father's voice as he made his way down the stairs.

"I just don't know what a doctor could do. You said it yourself that wound is magic, and Clark's body is…"

"Hey," said Clark as he made his way into the kitchen. His mother was standing next to Jonathan, looking pale and her eyes looking worryingly tired. Chloe was there too, clearly arguing with Jonathan over the decision not to have Clark looked at after what happened last night.

"Clark, are you all right?" asked Chloe.

"Sorry to have worried everybody," said Clark as all eyes turned to look at him. "I'm fine now, really. It took a bit of time, but my body still seems able to heal itself, even from magic."

"I guess even though magic can hurt you, you're still more resilient to it than a human would be," said Chloe, thoughtfully.

"You should all get some rest now," said Clark, taking Chloe in his arms and kneeling down to kiss her. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there."

"You can't save everybody, Clark."

"Chloe's right, son. You did the best you could. No-one's ever asked any more of you than that, and they never will," added Jonathan.

"That thing is still out there. And so is that man. He knows my secret."

"Clark, I don't want you taking all of this on yourself," said Martha sternly.

"I don't have a choice, mom. Sophie may have been a little annoying, but she didn't deserve what happened to her last night. None of those people did. And a lot more people are going to die if I can't stop this thing. There's no-one else."

Pressing her hand to his cheek, Chloe smiled at him warmly. Opening his shirt slightly, she looked at the wound on his chest. It had closed up finally, and she ran her hand across it gently, amazed at his capacity to heal.

"I know how you feel, Clark. I watched as that monster killed those people. I'm going to do everything I can to help. But I have to say, this isn't going to be as easy as looking into a meteor freak. I don't exactly have the library from Buffy to work with here."

Kissing Chloe again, Clark closed his eyes in shame at how close he'd come to losing her last night. He'd been trying so hard to save people he hadn't even met that he'd almost let the girl he loved be killed. He really couldn't save everybody. In the end, he hadn't even been able to stop the creature causing the deaths. Now more people were going to die. In a serial killer case, the police often relied on the killer striking again in order to catch the culprit. If he just stopped, they'd never find him. And Clark had a bad feeling this thing might strike again before he could find it.

"Call me as soon as you know anything," Clark said, grabbing his coat.

"Hang on a second," said Jonathan, leaving Martha and striding over to his son. "You can't seriously be planning to go into college today?"

"Dad, I'm fine. And Professor Fine really rags on me if I don't show up to his classes."

"It's probably best to go about as normal," said Chloe, standing up for Clark. "I'll cancel tonight though."

"Tonight?" asked Clark, halfway out the door.

"Yeah, my dad was supposed to be coming round here for dinner…"

"Oh, there's no need to cancel that," said Jonathan quickly. "Even if the two of you can't make it, Martha and I can entertain Gabe just fine."

Clark frowned at that. His mom looked worried and exhausted. Cooking and company might be the last thing she needed. He was surprised his father, always the first to look out for her, was insisting on Gabe's coming without even checking with her.

"Yes, of course," said Martha, somewhat hesitantly. Nodding distractedly, Clark offered them all a wave before speeding off to class.


	8. Chapter 8

The previous class was still on when Clark arrived, so everyone had to wait outside in the corridor. Clark realised this was a rarity for him; usually he arrived either dead on the start or a little after. Occasionally his responsibilities caused him to miss class all together, but he did the best he could. He couldn't afford to get thrown out, after all.

The other students talked amongst themselves, and Clark began to realise what an outsider he was in college. The odd time he saw a face he recognised from high school, but they weren't in the same classes as him. He knew a few of the people here to make small talk with, but never really socialised with anyone outside of college. His commitments on the farm coupled with the other responsibilities his powers brought didn't leave him much time. Not to mention the time he spent helping Professor Fine. Even spending time with Chloe proved difficult sometimes.

"Are you alright, Clark?"

Looking up, Clark noticed a pretty young girl looking intently at him. A couple of guys were looking appreciatively at her. She was tall and athletic-looking, blonde hair running down her back. Deep green eyes made her gaze all the more powerful. Clark had just a moment to think 'Green means kryptonite' before dismissing such an absurd suggestion.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a bit of a late night, that all, uh…"

"Sarah," she said, offering him a winning smile. He couldn't remember seeing her before, but that didn't mean much. The classes here were much larger than in high school, and there were plenty of people he didn't know. It wasn't surprising she knew his name though; Professor Fine got on at him all the time.

"Well, nice to meet you," said Clark, standing back as the class exited. From the corner of his eye he could see Professor Fine had arrived, and was watching the pair of them casually.

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Ross Cummings had a pleasant wake up that morning; he was woken by a phone call from his agent. These were becoming few and far between as Ross approached forty. As Jeff chattered excitedly on the other end, Ross reflected how his wife moaned at him not to answer it and go back to sleep. She'd actually almost stopped him from answering!

"So the part's definitely mine? Definitely?" asked Ross loudly. Can you hear me up there, honey? One of the biggest roles of the year most definitely mine, and you wanted me to lie in!

"Shut the hell up down there!" Ross winced; Piper's voice was loud enough to wake the dead.

"What was that?" asked Jeff.

"Nothing. Look, is it a done deal or what?"

"Well, nothing's in writing until you sign, of course, but with Miller out they need someone fast. As long as we move now, the part's ours."

Ours? What a weird thing to say, Jeff old buddy. I don't think your fat, bald, three-hundred pound carcass is going to be appearing on screen. I don't think that's the deal at all, Ross thought but did not say.

"So you want to go for it?" Jeff asked.

"Are you shtting me? Of course I do. As soon as I finish this sentence, I want you to hang up the phone, get the director himself on the line, and tell him I'll take it."

The line went dead. Ross smiled and hung up the phone. He then realised a smile wasn't really sufficient for the occasion. He leapt into the air, letting out a cheer. Professionalism and dignity be damned.

"What's with all the noise, Ross?"

He turned to see his wife on the stairs. She sounded annoyed, but he could tell she was curious as well now. He walked over to her, grabbing her by the shoulders, smacking his lips off hers. He could see the stunned look on her face; passion of any kind was rare between them these days. That would change today, he was sure. Right now he didn't even care that she didn't look her best first thing in the morning. He knew this was probably true of all women, but hopefully not to this extent. Her eyes just looked so lazy, her lips dry, skin oily and lying slack over her face. And her hair got so damn greasy.

Stop doing this man, not today, contracts going to be signed, it's going to be a done deal.

"I got the part," he said, almost breathless with excitement. Piper's face lit up, and Ross remembered she could look quite pretty in the mornings sometimes. In a certain light.

"The McDonald's commercial?"

"Y- no, no! Geez Pipe, are you stupid? You think I'd get so excited about that?"

He regretted the words as soon as he said the. Piper liked being called 'Pipe' about as much as she liked being called 'stupid'.

"I don't like it when you call me that, Ross."

Which one do you mean, he thought for a moment. He was getting irritated with himself – how did he managed to pss people off all the time? Here he was trying to share his good feelings and he was a step away from fighting with his wife. He wasn't entirely sure that he was in love with her anymore… but he certainly didn't dislike her either.

"I know, baby. I'm sorry. Not the commercial. It's a little better than that. Like the male lead in Angela Hunter's next hit. I got the role!"

Piper squealed, actually squealed with delight, hugging him, and damned if feeling her breasts against him didn't feel good right now.

"But I thought Miller got the part?" she asked, a little tentatively, Ross believed. Like he was about to yell 'Geez, Pipe, you stupid? Of course he didn't win the freaking part!

"Me too, but I guess he must have pulled out or something, and I was the second choice. Lucky break, huh?"

He was aware he was saying 'pulled out', but might he be daring to think 'been forced out'? Might he be thinking Miller was miscast, and they'd realised there was a better man for the job? Yes, he might just be thinking that.

"You earned it," stressed Piper, and at that moment Ross felt for his wife more than he had for months. Pulling her close to him, he kissed her on the cheek.

"How about you and I go upstairs?" he whispered. Then, observing her hair and skin, added: "We could take a shower together."

And to think she hadn't wanted him to answer the phone!

Outside, the swarm Dan had watched exit the void the previous night circled was circling his house.

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Sarah sat herself next to Clark during the class. He was surprised to learn she had read 'The Inheritors', the book Fine had recommended the day before.

"It's about the downfall of a whole society, Clark. A whole way of life. There are few things more compelling than that," she said ominously, before giggling. She seemed likeable enough, he thought, and beyond intelligent. Professor Fine set a high standard, and she was one of the few in the class who was up to meeting it completely.

Fine called him over after class, and she told him she'd see him tomorrow. Clark hoped she wanted to be friends; any more than that was a no-go. Then again, even another friend was another person for him to lie to, to be careful around.

"Is everything okay, Professor?" he asked. Fine was apparently looking at a spot on the wall. "I didn't think you needed me after class today. I'm supposed to be having dinner with my girlfriend and her dad."

Fine arched an eyebrow.

"I'm glad you have your priorities straight, Mr Kent," he said dryly. "No, I don't need you tonight. I noticed you were talking to Miss Adams earlier."

"Miss Adams?"

"Sarah," said Fine with an impatient sigh. "You two know each other well?"

"No, not at all. We just happened to get talking today. What's this about, Professor?"

Fine, packing up his things distractedly, hesitated a moment.

"Well, I hate to say things like this, Clark. I really shouldn't."

"What is it?"

"I don't think that girl's going to be around much longer. She's involved in… some kind of trouble. I can't say any more than that. For your own good, I'd advise you to stay away from her."

"But… she seems really nice…"

"Have I honestly taught you nothing? Appearances can be deceptive. It's true of Lex Luthor, and it's true of that girl. Watch yourself, and let me deal with it."

Confused, Clark watched as the professor exited the hall. It had been a strange couple of days, that was for sure. But whatever was going on with Sarah wasn't his problem. Right now he had to worry about what those screams in Metropolis had been. Who that man who knew his secret was. What that thing that had almost killed Chloe was.

And, he thought as he began to speed home, he had to make a good impression on Chloe's father.


	9. Chapter 9

Ross and Piper had redone much of the bathroom two years ago, replacing worn out tiles, placing a new carpet and installing an improved shower. While Piper fetched towels, Ross was using the toilet. He heard the phone ringing; probably Jeff calling to confirm everything. Piper picked it up. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he wasn't too concerned. She would soon fill him in.

As he tried to listen in, he noticed a scratching noise coming from behind the wall in front of him. He wasn't sure what the hell that could be, and he didn't much care for it at all. Behind that wall was the bedroom, and since his wife was downstairs, it couldn't be her.

What the hell would your wife be scratching the wall for in the first place, dumbss?

It was almost certainly nothing, but he found he disliked the 'almost' part of that certainty.

"Ross, someone on the phone for you!"

He was about to shout that he'd call them back – he really wanted to see what was scratching – when he noted the 'someone'. Piper knew what Jeff sounded like, since the three of them had been to dinner more than once. Admittedly that was some time ago, when his career was in the prime it was about to re-enter, but she wasn't likely to forget. If it was Jeff, she would have said as much. So it must be someone else. And could it be someone associated with the movie?

"Be right there!" he yelled, washing his hands quickly. Whatever was making the scratching probably wasn't going anywhere anyway. Hell, if it did, all the better. He wondered what it could be as he hurried downstairs. Piper handed him the phone as he reached the bottom, but he didn't take the call right away.

"Don't go into the bedroom, honey. I think a bird got in there or something."

Piper screwed up her face to show her distaste. Ross had no idea why; a bird outside wouldn't exactly bother her. She went upstairs to the bathroom. He suddenly had an odd certainty that the person on the line was going to offer him the McDonalds commercial.

"Hello?"

"Is that you, Mr Cummings?"

No, ashole, my wife fetched the wrong person, because her name's Pipe and she's stupid.

"Hello?"

He hadn't answered, and he found he simply couldn't answer. There was scratching coming from the living room.

"Hello?"

Another scratch. Another hello. Ross felt for a moment that the voice on the phone was simply going to keep on repeating itself, then finally heard the phone being placed down. He placed his own phone back into the cradle. The scratching wasn't stopping. It was instead getting faster. It sounded like it was trying to scratch it's way right through the door.

That you, Mr Cummings? Hello? Hello? Hello?

A large bat-like creature slammed against the front door. Ross could see it's blurred form against the glass. It looked larger than any bat he had ever seen – admittedly he had seen no bats at all in person – and it's body was covered with purple fur. At first he was sure it was dead; it's head after all had smashed into the glass at high speed and blood (purple) splattered across the window. Then it slowly raised it's head and gathered it's bearings, like a drunk emerging from a doze. And began scratching at the window.

Hello? Hello? Hello?

A part of Ross' brain took charge then, telling him they needed to get out of the house. But they were outside too, another protested weakly. Yes, true old buddy, but they are in here. They are everywhere in here. Might not be the same out there.

He began running up the stairs, hearing scratching everywhere, a whole collective unit trying to cure the world's largest itch. To his left, another bat flew against the hall window. I didn't think bats were really blind, he thought, before realising they weren't. They were just crazy.

His wife was screaming; he could hear she was hysterical. She's seen one, he thought, and was proven right as he opened the bathroom door. She'd gotten a real close view – one of them was in the hair he'd been mentally criticizing earlier. It's wings were beating against her head as she swatted ineffectually at it.

"Get it off of me!"

Ross had every intention of doing just that, but first things first. The bat had flown in through the open bathroom window, and that son of a btch needed to be closed. He pushed forward, gently shoving his wife aside, then slammed it shut. Downstairs, the phone was ringing again.

Turning, not letting himself think too closely about what he was doing, he grabbed the bat with both hands. One wing slammed against them and he drew back. If it bites her, she's going to turn into a vampire, he thought. It sounded crazy, but crazy seemed to fit this situation just fine. He tried again, this time resolving not to let go no matter what.

The bat was torn off Piper's head as he pulled, bringing a fair amount of her hair with it. Ross hadn't thought much further than this, but the next step came easily enough. He was squeezing the life out of the thing before he even knew what he was doing. As he did, the creature hissed at him. It's teeth were positively huge. Forget becoming a vampire – if this baby went for the throat, his head was coming straight off. Behind the long-toothed bat approximation his wife was watching in fear. He wasn't going to get much help from there.

Purple blood exploded down his hands as the creature's head burst in his hands. Acid, he thought, it's going to burn the skin right off –

"What was that thing?" asked Piper, and he realised he wasn't burning at all. Then, absurdly, he wondered why her first priority hadn't been thanking him for saving her.

More sensibly: How many other windows are open in the house?

He knew he had to call for help. The fact that moments ago he'd been right next to the telephone almost got him laughing.

"Once I go out, lock the door."

She grabbed his arm, but he shrugged her off easily. She was still trembling. He still wasn't sure he loved her, which probably meant he didn't, but if he could save her life he would be glad.

Then he was out in the hall again, closing the door behind him, hearing his wife lock it. At least she still had enough of her senses to manage that much. He was aware she had also managed to cut him off from the one part of the house he knew to be safe. And was it really necessary for him to be calling for help? Surely one of the neighbours would see what was happening?

He couldn't be sure of that; his neighbours largely kept regular working hours, unlike his unemployed wife and her 'I've been reading a lot of scripts lately' husband. But certainly someone would walk past sooner or later. So exactly why was he here risking his life when he was about to be a star again? The movie producers would have heart attacks. No way would he be able to get insurance. They'd say he exposed himself to bats, so no way could they insure him.

The idea of 'exposing' himself to bats got him laughing.

That lasted until about the time he noticed the phone cord had been chewed through. Actually, chewed was probably the wrong word; Ross had an idea those fantastic teeth could get through in one quick bite. Okay, no problemo, so the home phone was out and one of those things was in the hall somewhere with him; he still had his cell phone. And where was his cell phone? Why, his cell phone was back upstairs in the bedroom, where he'd heard the first one of those creatures.

Ross found this so funny he was still laughing when the bat-thing flew down and tore his face off.

888

Chloe was impressed with Martha's cooking, especially considering the stress she'd been under. She figured it might have helped her to have something to keep her busy, take her mind off of things. Chloe felt much the same way herself. Her investigation into what happened hadn't turned up much, but it was a welcome distraction. Even that wasn't enough though, and all too frequently she saw the monster impaling the bouncer, tearing at Sophie, saw Clark falling to his knees bleeding.

"Chloe, if you're not up for this…" whispered Clark, squeezing her hand. She offered him a smile. He was trying to be strong as always, but inside she knew he was worried.

"I'm alright, really," she said, kissing his cheek. Kissing his cheek was all that was allowed between them at present. Even that was causing her father, sitting across the table, to grin at them. Even now she was an adult, Gabe still saw her as his little girl. Which meant he felt the need to embarrass her relentlessly.

"Get a room you two," he said, looking at Martha and Jonathan who laughed politely. "Seriously though, they're really sweet, aren't they?"

"Dad…" warned Chloe.

"Well, Jonathan and I are glad Clark's with someone like Chloe," said Martha, clearing her throat. Chloe thought that was Martha's way of letting Jonathan know he wasn't contributing much to the conversation. She'd always thought of Mr Kent as being fairly quiet, but tonight he seemed very distracted. She couldn't exactly blame him. Something had almost killed his son, and they had no idea what it was. It still surprised her that he'd insisted on the dinner going ahead.

"It's good to know someone's looking out for her," said Gabe, who did not know anything about last night. "Especially now that she'd gotten away from my ever-watchful eye."

The Kents had protested about not telling him, almost winning out, but she'd held firm. The past couple of years had been very difficult for Gabe. Since losing his job at Luthorcorp, he hadn't been able to find regular work. And what work he did get he tended to be overqualified for. Gabe put on a strong face, but she knew his pride had been hurt a lot. Worrying him about some of the more dangerous parts of her life would probably lower his feelings of self-worth even further,

"Well, she certainly needs keeping an eye on," said Jonathan suddenly. "I think you might want to watch her more closely Gabe, given the amount of trouble your daughter seems to lead my son into."

Everyone sat in awkward silence for a moment. Chloe could see Martha was about to speak, before Clark stepped in.

"Dad, what are you talking about?"

"It was just a joke, son," said Jonathan, returning his attention to his plate. Though it sure hadn't sounded like one to Chloe. Did he really blame her for last night? She hadn't meant for any of that to happen. How could she have known? But for all that, if Clark had died, she knew she would never have forgiven herself. Maybe Jonathan wouldn't have either.

"How about Clark and I take care of the dishes?" said Chloe as she finished up. Any other guy would have been horrified at being dragged into a duty like that, but no matter what chore you threw at Clark he hardly ever complained. Even ones where he couldn't use his powers.

"Oh no, Chloe I couldn't ask you to do that. You're a guest," insisted Martha, getting up. Chloe waved her aside.

"No, really. Besides, Clark and I have stuff to talk about," said Chloe. Gathering up all the plates, she took them over to the sink. Clark followed.

"You find out something?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"Not much," sighed Chloe. "The police are claiming it was an animal. There's no reports of anything escaping from the zoo or anything though."

"How do they account for the magic?"

"Well, not many people saw that part. It all happened so fast, after all. Anything unexplained basically gets put down as imagined or mistaken. I did learn one interesting thing though."

""Really? What's that?" asked Clark, putting the dishes into hot soapy water.

"An old friend of ours is looking in to what happened. Remember Perry White?"

"How could I forget?" said Clark. "He almost discovered my secret when he came into town. I had a lucky escape on that one."

"Well, maybe he can uncover the truth behind this. I was thinking…"

"That we can help him out?"

"Yeah. You still have his number don't you?" she asked. She had to admit to feeling a little envious of Clark on that one. Perry White owed him a favour, and had offered Clark (admittedly limited) praise for his journalism.

"Sure," said Clark. "I'm not even sure why I kept it, but it's around here somewhere."

Chloe beamed at him. A chance to work alongside Perry White was something else. Of course, he had to actually agree with it… but she was sure he already knew the most effective journalistic technique was never taking 'no' for an answer. It was one she had mastered.

"You know, Clark, if I had super-strength I'd be breaking dishes all the time to get out of doing them," she said, watching him trying to make a good job of them.

"That's because you're a lazy, good for nothing reporter," said Clark, flicking bubbles on to her nose. She got him back, giggling as he threatened her with his damp gloves.

A moment later, Clark was gone.

888

The instructions were clear in Jonathan's mind. He was to kill Gabe Sullivan, but not while his super-powered son was there. That could be disastrous – it could ruin everything.

He couldn't know, of course, that a trace amount of the demon's blood was within him, controlling him. To Jonathan, it all seemed completely normal. He couldn't understand why his wife was asking him if he was alright.

He was fine.

"So, Gabe," he said, in a mocking tone that sounded completely unlike him. "How's the job search going?"

"Well, uh, I've just finished a couple of temp jobs. They would have kept me on but…"

"We can take you on, Gabe. You can always bail hay for us. Muck out the stalls. I can't afford to pay you much, of course. But then, I guess you're not worth much these days, are you?"

"Jonathan! What's wrong with you?" snapped Martha, appalled (though also concerned) by her husband's behaviour.

"It's fine, Martha, really," said Gabe.

"That's right, Gabe. That's the attitude that's got you trodden over all your life. By your wife, by The Luthor's… hell, probably by your own daughter."

A smirk passed across Jonathan's face as Martha edged away from him. She was going to tell Clark something was wrong with his father.

But Clark was gone, chasing after the shadows the demon had left him to follow. One minute he'd been there, and after hearing a cry for help, he'd gone. Jonathan stood up, pulling the knife he had concealed up his sleeve. Martha looked at him in shock, while Chloe looked round in horror.

Jonathan advanced on Gabe.


	10. Chapter 10

"Is it really there?"

With her dark glasses and hat on, Dan barely recognised Angela as she stood next to him looking up at the rift she couldn't see. That was the point of course; she didn't want to be recognised. Mostly to avoid attracting public attention, but he also figured she just plain didn't want to be seen associating with someone like him. She was a picture of glamour after all, and dead or not, he'd always looked like a down-and-out.

"You bet. Getting larger all the time. Pretty soon, all kinds of things will be coming out of there," he said pleasantly. He chuckled as Angela took a nervous step back, licking her lips.

"Something funny?" she asked, trying to conceal her embarrassment.

"I just think it's amusing you step back now when everything you've done leads you on the path right to that place."

"Hell isn't much of a concern if you're going to live forever. That was the agreement."

True enough, but nothing lasted forever. He knew Angela desired more than anything to remain young, beautiful and popular. That was the problem with growing older; you thought more and more about the things you were going to lose, and figured you had nothing left to gain. Still, he wondered how she thought she was going to explain looking thirty when she reached the age of a hundred.

"As long as you do your part. I understand Perry White was interviewing you earlier?"

"I didn't exactly tell him anything. It'll be in the paper, if you want to read it for yourself."

"I'm sure your sob story about losing your good friends makes quite a read, but I'll pass. 'Sarah' seems to think that reporter is important somehow though. You'll have to keep an eye on him."

Normally, the demon would have been able to deal with that matter personally, he thought. But she was letting herself get too caught up with Kent. It took him a moment to realise he was thinking of it as a 'she' for the first time. He wondered if the demon was starting to think of itself that way too.

"Busywork isn't really my thing, sweetie."

He gave her a cool gaze that made her uncomfortable even under her glasses.

"Fine, I'll do it," she said finally. "But remember, I'll be out of here long before that… thing opens up fully."

888

Someone nearby was calling for help. The voice sounded familiar to Clark, bringing back painful (but also joyful) memories. Yet he knew it couldn't be him. All he knew was that someone was in trouble.

It was coming from just a little up the road, which passed by Clark in a blur. Slowing down to get his bearings, and to try and ensure he wasn't spotted using his powers, he scanned the area. Someone was running through the cornfield; he could hear them getting closer.

"Hey!" he called, guiding them towards him. Using his hearing ability, he checked to see if the person was being chased, but found nothing. So what was he running from?

As a young boy emerged from the field, he figured at least he could see the person in trouble this time. Yet what was in front of right now had to be every bit as much of a lie.

"Ryan?" he asked, his voice sounding very small and uncertain. He'd only known Ryan a short time before he'd died, but in that time they'd been like brothers. Ryan had a telepathic ability, able to read any human mind… which didn't include his, of course. The two of them had grown close, but Ryan had developed a tumour on his brain. Despite Clark's best efforts, Ryan had died.

Which meant he couldn't be here right now. Didn't it? Hadn't he met a man claiming to be dead just last night?

"Clark!" said Ryan, running forward and wrapping his arms around Clark's waist. Using his x-ray vision, Clark checked to see what he could see. He wasn't sure what he expected to find – certainly not shapeshifting Tina Greer, who was equally dead. Everything checked out as normal.

Though that was a funny thing to think, since this situation was anything but that.

"Ryan… I don't understand… you died…" said Clark, unsure what to say. He'd seen someone brought back to life before, through use of his own blood, but that had been on a recently deceased body. It had also been all-too temporary.

Something clicked into place. Last night he'd went running to find someone calling for help… and in his absence, other people had been hurt. And now here he was, probably falling for the same trick twice. Fool me once, shame on you…

Using his super-hearing again, he focused on The Kent Farm. 'Ryan' tilted his head to one side, regarding Clark closely.

"What's the matter, Clark? Aren't you glad to see me?"

"You're not Ryan," spat Clark, turning round, planning to sprint back to the farm before it was too late.

He turned round to see Alicia Baker standing in front of him. Another person who'd been close to him and he couldn't save.

"I'm just as fast as you are, Clark," she said. "And I hope you'll believe me when I tell you I can be just as deadly to you as Kryptonite."

"You're that thing that attacked me last night, killed all those people."

"I didn't want to hurt you, Clark. I just had to protect myself, that's all. I love you."

"You're not Alicia."

"No," she said, before morphing into Chloe Sullivan. "But I can be anyone you want me to be. I didn't want you to see me like that, last night. You won't have to see that again, I promise."

She reached out to touch him gently, but he grabbed her arm with great force and squeezed it.

"Move out of my way or GET moved," he demanded. Catching him off guard, she pulled free with surprising strength.

"Don't understand yet, do you? You see, Clark, you belong to me. In mind, body and soul. Nothing you do from this point will change that."

Springing forward, Clark threw a punch that connected with the front of her face. He didn't think he'd ever hit someone as hard as that before, and right then he didn't care. As the shapeshifter hurled backwards, he ran back towards the farm, hoping beyond hope that he wasn't too late.

888

Gabe pushed himself to his feet, putting himself between Jonathan and the two women.

"Stay back, both of you," he said, his voice trembling just slightly. Even so, he sounded like a hero to Chloe right about then. "Jonathan, this is just crazy…"

Jonathan let the knife slice through the air, looking like he was enjoying himself. Chloe didn't know what had gotten into him, but it wasn't like people in Smallville hadn't been controlled before. Her dad, however, didn't know much about that, and right now he seemed to think Jonathan could be reasoned with.

"You'd know all about crazy, wouldn't you? How longs you're wife been locked away for, anyway? And how long before you're daughter joins her? I'll be doing you a favour, making sure you never have to see something like that. I couldn't live with myself if that happened to my only child," said Jonathan.

And where was Jonathan's only child right now, thought Chloe grimly. Like last night, he'd run off, presumably to help someone… and someone had taken advantage. Last night had felt like it was all down to chance, but there was no doubt that this had all been premeditated. It sent a chill up her spine to think about. Something had played them all, placed them all exactly where it wanted them.

Right now, Gabe wanted them moved as well. With a slight wave of his hand he gestured them to move towards the door, while he led Jonathan away from them. She noticed that Clark's father hadn't taken his eyes off Gabe the whole time… for whatever reason, he was the primary target.

"Let me help you," said Gabe, raising his hands. "Whatever's going on, we'll get through this."

"Don't patronise me, you son of a btch!" spat Jonathan. The knife shot forwards, nicking Gabe's cheek as he dodged backwards. A trickle of blood dropped from the knife as Martha screamed. Chloe made her move. Her dad, by necessity, didn't know everything about her life now she knew Clark's secret… but he should have known that she wasn't just going to leave him in danger.

Grasping The Kent's frying pan in her hand, she swung and hit Jonathan in the back of the head. He fell, giving a cry of surprise as he went. He rolled around, but now Gabe leapt on top of him, trying to take the knife from his grasp. Jonathan however, outweighed him and pushed him off, struggling to his feet. Lunging forwards, he swept the knife up in an arc.

Martha pushed Gabe out of the way. The knife stopped just inches short of her throat, and Jonathan blinked, looking confused.

"Martha?" he asked, and Chloe thought he was himself for just a moment. "Martha, I don't want to hurt you…"

Gabe caught him with a right hand to the jaw and Jonathan staggered back, but caught his balance. Without really thinking, she passed her father the frying pan, and he swung it with a fury she'd never imagined her father possessed. It hit Jonathan right in the face, breaking his nose and busting him open. He fell backwards onto the table they'd just finished eating at. Her father looked horrified for a moment.

Jonathan looked in pretty bad shape, but she noticed he still hadn't let go of the knife. And then she noticed something even more alarming. Right before their eyes, Jonathan's nose regained it's former shape. The wound on his forehead closed up.

"What the hell…?" asked Gabe, looking almost comically confused.

To make matters worse, Clark suddenly appeared in front of him from out of nowhere.

"It's going to be alright, dad," said Clark, before tapping him on the forehead. Jonathan fell backwards, eyes closed. Chloe looked at her father, about to offer some explanation, but Gabe put an arm around her protectively.

"What… what are you people?" asked Gabe, looking at Martha.


	11. Chapter 11

Chloe was looking at Clark wide-eyed as her dad pulled her backwards. She was about to concoct some kind of explanation involving temporary powers when Clark spoke.

"It's alright, Chloe. He should know. It looks like we're all in danger now."

Her father squeezed her against him tightly, looking at Clark like he was… well, an alien. That alone would have been difficult enough to try and explain, but there was also the matter of Jonathan's apparent powers. And even she didn't know what was going on there. Pulling away from her father's grip, she took his hand and offered him a weak smile.

"You don't have to worry, dad. I know all about Clark. He's not going to hurt us," she said.

"You know WHAT about Clark? How did he just do that? And his father just tried to kill us!"

"He was being controlled. I'm not really sure what by, but we're in a very dangerous situation. As for me… I'm an alien," said Clark.

"Dad, before you say anything, Clark's saved my life so many times over the years. I love him, Daddy. I know this is a lot to take in…"

"You bet it's a lot to take in!" snapped Gabe. "So… so are you all aliens? How is that possible? The Kents have owned this land for generations. How far back does this go?"

"Gabe, Jonathan isn't an alien. He's the same person you've always known. So is Clark, really. True, he hides his abilities, but otherwise he doesn't act or look any differently than a regular human," said Martha, stepping forwards. Chloe noticed her father flinched just slightly. She'd pictured telling her and Clark telling him before, and this wasn't exactly how they'd went about it. She'd rather figured on maybe making a meal to relax him beforehand, rather than having someone try to kill him first.

"Look, this a longer conversation, but now's not the time to have it. Clark, were you on another wild goose chase?" asked Chloe.

"Sort of. But I did meet the monster that attacked you last night."

"MONSTER that ATTACKED you last night?" said Gabe, turning on his daughter, face purple and veins straining on his neck. Her father had always indulged her 'love of all things weird' in a kind of 'my daughter, what am I supposed to do?' kind of way. He was now learning her interest wasn't quite as harmless as he once believed.

"Yeah… that would be one of those 'Clark saved my life' moments you've heard so little about," she said.

"It attacked you too, Clark," said Martha, inspecting him with motherly concern.

"I came off a bit better this time. Hit it pretty hard. But it's still out there somewhere. I could take a look around for it, but it can move like I can, and look like anyone it wants. I'm probably not going to find it if it doesn't want to be found," he said, looking at them with dismay. Chloe knew what he was thinking. He couldn't keep an eye on all of them all the time. Even if he used his abilities to the limit, this creature wouldn't hesitate to hurt other people to try and lure him away again.

"Let's call Perry," said Chloe after a moment's thought. "We can't exactly give him all the details, but we might be able to convince him to tell us what he knows."

"That's if he knows anything," added Clark. "I better tie dad up as well. Who knows what he's going to be like when he wakes up?"

"If we can get him to snap out of it, maybe he can tell us something that'll help?" said Martha, sounding unconvinced. "Gabe, can I get you something to drink? We don't keep a lot of liquor in the house, but there's a few beers in the fridge…"

"No… no thank you… I think we need to get out of here right now," said Gabe.

"Dad, aren't you listening? Something wants us dead, and Clark is the only person who can help us!"

"Clark's the one who got you into all this in the first place, isn't he?"

"No, he didn't," she said firmly. "And if I have to get him to tie you up as well, so be it."

Gabe began rubbing his forehead, mumbling to himself.

"I never should have let her read all those books about aliens, my fault, never should have…"

888

Emerging from his spaceship, Milton Fine, aka Brainiac, took a moment to ensure his presence remained undetected. Evading Luthor's security had proven simplicity itself, but it wouldn't do to be careless. Especially now that a new threat to his plans had emerged. He'd been prudent to investigate the strange girl that had taken an interest in Kal-el, as things turned out.

Things would be taken care of though. He was ready to make his move.


	12. Chapter 12

The readings Brainiac was receiving were not encouraging. The current tear in reality that was threatening Metropolis has already surpassed his ability to reverse. There was simply too much damage for him to undo. With closing the rift no longer an option, he was left with plan B: containment. Metropolis was a key part of Zodd's plans, and even if it hadn't been, it didn't do for something to be interfering with what would shortly be Zodd's domain.

He couldn't afford for Kal-El to be harmed either, not until such time as Zodd had been released from his prison. While Kal-El had proven fairly capable, Brainiac knew he was out of his depth on this one. If he had accepted his Kryptonian heritage as Jor-El had no doubt tried to force him to, he might have stood a chance. As it was, Kal-El had allowed himself to accept human emotions.

"Well now, I'm guessing that little gadget you're waving around isn't for picking up radio transmissions?" someone said behind him. Brainiac didn't need to turn around; he knew the voice. It belonged to someone named Dan, who was apparently working for the creature responsible for all this. The man was trying to sound amused by the situation, but Brainiac also detected an undercurrent of uncertainty. He was very much a wild card in this situation, after all.

"Not exactly," said Brainiac, spinning on his heel as his arm suddenly extended, it's appearance changing from that of flesh to metal. The end, sharp as spike, plunged into Dan's stomach, where he held it firm. The moonlight struck the side of weapon, sending a kind of unstoppable light off into the distance. Grinning horribly, Dan grabbed the end and tried to pull himself off of it. Brainiac simply extended the point of entry, sinking it in deeper.

"Just like the Terminator," laughed Dan.

"If I have one weakness, let's call it curiosity. Doesn't that hurt?" asked Brainiac, looking at Dan using his x-ray vision. "Heart not beating. Fascinating. So you came from through there."

"Demon was right to be wary of you," said Dan, who'd given up struggling. Brainiac reasoned that since he was already dead, he knew when the time was right to quit fighting. In the end, if a human, you reached a point where life was no longer worth having.

"Where is it now?"

"I ain't telling. Not like you can exactly torture me now, is it? I don't feel pain anymore."

"Very true. However, you can choose to spend the rest of your existence in one piece or many," said Brainiac, voice devoid of any emotion whatsoever now.

"I'm not afraid of you," snarled Dan, eyes hard. "Like you said, I came from through there. Nothing you can do to me that hasn't been done already."

Instantly compiling an analysis of the situation, Brainiac realised the chances of getting him to talk were too remote. There were much easier ways to locate the demon. After all, wasn't she much too interested in Kal-El?

Retracting the spike, Brainiac regarded his opponent for a moment. Fire flared behind his eyes, and in an instant Dan's body was burning. Even if he'd felt it, there would have been no time to scream. In no time at all, Dan's body had been turned to ashes, which he blew off into the night.

Cremation, after all, was the final disposition of the dead.

888

"Hello, Perry?"

While Martha tried to calm Gabe down, Chloe had taken Clark aside and gotten him to call Perry White. Perry had made quite an impression when he'd been in Smallville last – mostly for all the wrong reasons. Yet there was something likeable about him, and it seemed that lately he had turned the corner in his personal life. He was generally spoken highly of in The Daily Planet, and Chloe had regained a lot of respect for him.

"Perry, it's Clark Kent…"

Chloe found herself pacing back and forth while Clark watched her distractedly. He was trying to juggle the phone call, keeping an eye on them, and listening for any signs of trouble about the town. The stronger you were, the more people expected of you. But nobody expected more of Clark than himself.

"That's very interesting, but I wanted to…"

She could see Gabe holding his head in his hands as Martha talked. Jonathan hadn't woken up yet. She was glad he wasn't hurt, but couldn't understand how he'd been healed like that. He wasn't simply being controlled – he'd been fundamentally changed somehow. So was it temporary or permanent? And if it were permanent, could they find a way to change him back?

There was one other question about Jonathan she figured Clark and Martha might be daring to ask. If wounds on the surface had healed like that, might his heart have been healed too? It seemed like to much to hope for, that any good might come out of all this.

"Yes, I had heard about that, but listen…"

"Clark, will you just give me the phone?" she snapped, though not unkindly. "Hello?"

"Who's this? Don't tell me Clark has a girlfriend? I always thought he was a dark horse, that one," said Perry cheerfully.

"This is Chloe Sullivan," she said. "And this isn't a social call, Perry. This is pretty serious."

"Well, if I have a weakness – IF, Miss Sullivan – I guess it's curiosity. Let's hear it."

"I understand you're looking into the attacks at a nightclub in Metropolis?"

She heard Perry chuckle down the phone.

"Attacks occur in Metropolis nightclubs all the time. But if I remember correctly, you had a rather particular interest in shall we say, supernatural phenomena?"

"If I remember correctly, so did you."

"I've moved on since then Chloe. I'm trying to regain my credibility as a reporter. Things like that don't really help. People would think I'm back on the bottle if I went about reporting on things like that."

"Clark and I were there last night, Mr White. We saw what attacked those people."

Silence on the other end. Chloe waited, knowing she'd gotten him right where she wanted him.

"You know, if it were just that one thing, I could probably dismiss it," she heard Perry say. "But just a half hour ago, I talked to this lady. She was telling me about how her husband died. He was killed by, and I quote, 'a large bat or bat-like creature'. She even showed me one that her husband killed. Not like any bat I ever saw before. Says a whole swarm of them swept down on their house."

"It's weird, I admit, but I don't see any connection…" said Chloe. Clark was looking at her anxiously. No doubt he could hear both ends of the conversation.

"Reporting is all about finding connections," said Perry. "And in this case, there are in fact two. One is the fact that the attack took place just a few streets away from the club. The second is Metropolis's own A-list superstar, Miss Angela Hunter. She was at the club the night of the attack, and the person killed by the bat was due to star opposite her in her latest movie."

Angela Hunter… Chloe had seen her that night, had even thought about how strange Angela's reactions to everything were. One of her friends lying dead in front of her, a monster tearing through the club… and Angela not looking frightened at all. Looking like what was happening was just a mild annoyance to her.

"So what's your theory?" said Chloe, moistening her lips. Perry paused to think for a moment. She knew he wasn't trying to think of a theory – he already had one. Instead he was wondering how much he should tell her. You didn't get ahead as a reporter by telling your own kind everything you knew.

"Could be some kind of genetic experiments being performed on animals. Maybe some nut releasing them, targeting Angela…"

"That sounds like a bit of a stretch, Perry. You said there was a whole swarm of bats…"

"I only saw one, Chloe. Most likely she was exaggerating. The poor woman was shaken to her core by what happened. Regardless, I'm looking into the genetic experiments possibility," he said.

"And when you hear genetic experiments, I'm guessing you can't help but be thinking Luthors?" said Chloe. Clark gestured for her to hurry things up a little. She pulled a face at him. He wasn't good at waiting – super speed had spoiled him somewhat.

"I try to avoid Luthors, as you know, but I can't afford to discount them on this one."

Maybe Perry couldn't, but Chloe thought she could. At one point she would have probably followed the same trail as him, but this thing was different. She was positive it was supernatural in origin.

"So what's your next move?" she asked.

"Well, I already talked to Angela, but that was before I learned about the second attack. I'd like to try to talk to her again. I think there's a strong possibility she was being targeted that night at the club. She may be in danger."

Again, Perry was making the right move on the information he had, but Chloe didn't think she was in danger at all. She hadn't looked scared… hadn't even looked surprised. She'd seen it before. Chloe was certain of that now.

"Could Clark and I come along for that? We might be able to convince her of the threat, since we've seen what happened," said Chloe.

"I'm not sharing the story, Miss Sullivan."

"That isn't what this is about. Clark doesn't even do any journalism anymore. We just want to help," she insisted. She heard Perry giving a theatrical sigh down the phone.

"How soon can you be in Metropolis?"

Thanking him, she made arrangements to meet up with him and hung up the phone. She was about to repeat the conversation to Clark before remembering he'd heard everything anyway.

"What about our parents? We can't just leave them here," said Clark in a whisper.

"Well, there's no reason they can't come along with us. Apart from Jonathan, I guess."

"Chloe, that thing obviously got to him once already. I'm not letting it get another chance. If he wakes up, I'll knock him out again. He's tied up pretty tight, he's not going to be hurting anybody."

She nodded, unable to think of a better way.

"Do you think it was a good idea, telling my dad?" asked Chloe.

"Honestly? I never really had a chance to think things through. I guess it must be a relief for you, not having to lie to him anymore," he said, taking her hands in his.

"I guess so. It might bring our two families closer together, if he ever gets his head around all this," she said, not sounding entirely convinced.

"You don't think he'll tell anybody, do you?"

"No, Clark. He knows I'd never forgive him if he did that."

888

Together they told Martha and Gabe about the trip to Metropolis. Chloe offered to drive, sitting up front with her father. No way was he driving; he looked confused and jittery. Martha, Jonathan and Clark went in the back, Clark between his parents in case Jonathan woke up. He was silent as they drove past the cornfields, perhaps passing scattered scraps of kryptonite that could kill him if he ever got too close.

Together, they were going to try to face this thing. An enemy that was in Smallville right now, stalking in the night. And the person who had always tried to protect the town's inhabitants was right now on his way out, heading for Metropolis. It felt to Clark like a defeat. It felt like he was running. Abandoning them. But what else could he have done?

I can't save everyone, he thought, looking at his father's ghostly reflection on the window as they drove into a night that looked as though it wanted to swallow them whole.

And then Jonathan woke up screaming.


	13. Chapter 13

"Jonathan!" Martha yelled beside Clark as Jonathan's body convulsed.

"Dad? Dad!" shouted Clark, holding his father still. "Chloe, pull over."

"What's going on back there?" asked Gabe, angling the mirror so he could take a look. Chloe pulled over to the side of the road, Jonathan's screaming ringing in her ears.

"Clark, he's bleeding," said Martha, unfastening her seat belt and heading round to the other side of the car. Clark could see that for himself – blood was flowing from his nose. Martha produced a clean tissue and held it to his nose. When the bleeding stopped, she pulled back the tissue and saw Jonathan grinning at her.

"Now that I have your attention…" he said, winking at Martha.

"Leave my father alone!" Clark demanded. Chloe could see the surprise on her dad's face. She never expected to hear that kind of authority coming from Clark. If he'd told Gabe to jump of a cliff in that voice, she wasn't sure Gabe wouldn't have done it. Clark's fist slammed forcefully against the seat, right next to Jonathan's head, but the man didn't even flinch.

"It requires a lot of concentration to take direct control like this, so please be quiet and listen. Your father is still in here, Clark, and he's going to feel everything I do to his body. As long as my blood is within him, I can do whatever I like. So if you don't want his brains leaking out of his ears, I suggest you stop wasting my time," said the creature through Jonathan.

"I'm not going to tell you again: get out of him," said Clark. Chloe could hear the fury in his voice. Jonathan began screaming again, with Martha trying to calm him down. The next moment he was staring at Clark, looking pretty angry himself.

"No, Clark. You're going to ask me what it is that I want, and after I tell you, you are going to follow my instructions exactly."

"What is it you want?" asked Clark after a moment's pause. Chloe figured he had bitten back an angry retort. He wasn't going to let his father suffer if he could help it.

"That's better. I want you to take care of someone for me. Someone who should never have gotten as far as they have. This person will, they must, be taken out."

"I'm not going to kill anybody," said Clark. "No matter what you threaten us with, my father didn't raise a son who could kill."

"Killing would be how I would do it, but I figured you'd say that. I will allow you a small amount of leeway on this occasion. You don't have to kill him, but you'll have to… incapacitate him for a short while."

"Who is it?" asked Clark. Chloe stayed quiet – in truth, she wasn't sure what to tell him. Lionel Luthor would have told him you couldn't give into blackmail, no matter what. And she didn't like the fact that the words "on this occasion" had been used.

"Professor Milton Fine," said Jonathan, looking at Clark closely. Clark's face was unreadable at that moment.

"What interest do you have in the professor?"

"He stumbled across a few friends of mine during his Luthorcorp research," said Jonathan. "So unfortunately I need him out of the way, buy myself a little time."

"A little time for what?" asked Chloe.

"A little time for eating young girls. Sophie was quite delicious, by the way. Almost as tasty as your own fear. No interviews today, Chloe. Now Clark, Milton Fine is presently at a location in Metropolis, busy tinkering with some toys of his," said Jonathan, giving him directions. Chloe was trying to work out exactly what was going on here. It was possible Fine could have stumbled across something that required him to be silenced, but why send Clark to do it? According to Clark, the creature could move like he could – a fact that sent a shiver up her spine. When it had been chasing her in Metropolis, it had merely been toying with her. So why not take Fine out itself? Why was it now going to all this trouble?

"If you want me to do this, you're going to give me my father back. Right now," said Clark.

"Alright, you can have him. But I can still take control at any time, so don't try anything. Go right now. When it's done, bring Fine here. The quicker you are, the quicker you can check I haven't hurt anyone else you care about," said Jonathan. The cruel edge in Jonathan's eyes disappeared; he now looked as confused and lost as her own father.

"Martha? Clark? What's going on? I feel…"

"Everything's okay, sweetheart," said Martha, touching Jonathan's cheek. Jonathan whispered something she couldn't hear. She leaned her head forward to try and listen, and as she did Jonathan twisted his head and went to bite her neck. Before he could, Clark had grabbed him. Martha yelped and darted backwards as Jonathan gave a cruel laugh.

"Get going, son," he said. "Everyone will be just fine with me here to watch over them."

Catching Clark's eye in the rear view mirror, Chloe nodded slowly.

"I won't be long," said Clark.

"I'll be watching, Clark. But don't worry – I believe in you son," mocked Jonathan as Clark got out of the car. Chloe watched as he sped away. Once he was gone, she noticed Jonathan slump back in his seat. She guessed it wasn't a lie that possessing him like that required a lot of concentration.

Brainiac was almost satisfied with the way the equipment was working. Once everything was in place, he'd be able to localize the damage caused by the rift itself. As for the things that would be coming out of there, most of them would simply be exchanging one incarceration for another. Straight out of a hell dimension and into the phantom zone. It was probably a mild improvement.

Squashing a bloated spider that was crawling over the equipment, he suddenly detected someone heading in his direction. At very high speed, as well. It dawned on him that the girl must have been watching him. He wasn't sure how – with the x-ray vision he possessed, no way of monitoring him could be concealed. Unless through some kind of magic…

Well, if the girl had come to him, all the better. Saved him the trouble of tracking her down. But as the door opened, he found it wasn't her after all. So she knew better than to tackle him head on…

"Clark?" he asked, frowning. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"I'm really sorry, Professor," said Clark, closing the door. "I don't have a choice. It's holding my father hostage, and it wants you out of the way."

Thinking quickly, Brainiac considered the best way of tackling the situation. It was too soon to reveal his powers to Kal-El. He had little to fear from him, but if he had to fake death here he couldn't continue his manipulation, not directly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, feigning a look of concern. "Who's holding your father hostage?"

"I don't know what it is. But it wants you out of the way. I'm not going to kill you, I promise. I just need to deliver you to it," said Clark. "I won't let it kill you either."

"The Luthor's are right about one thing, Clark: you can never give in to blackmail. We'll go right now and talk to the police…"

He paused as Kal-El grabbed his arm. He could have shrugged him off, but he had no intention of revealing his true strength to him now. This was certainly a nuisance, brought about entirely by Kal-El's pitiful love for the primitive who had taken him in. He saw Kal-El's fist moving towards him, like it was in slow motion. They were actually roughly a match for each other in terms of speed, but Kal-El was still trying to pass himself off as a human. In some regards, he had perhaps not developed his powers quite as quickly as he could have, but his speed was impressive, Brainiac conceded.

He let the blow connect, falling backwards. Kal-El actually caught him in his arms. As he feigned unconsciousness, he could feel Kal-El checking to see if he was alright. Such weakness in him. It made him so easy to exploit. He felt himself being hoisted onto Kal-Els shoulders, then carried off into the night. If Clark took him directly to 'Sarah', he would end her there and then, he decided. He certainly didn't want to reveal his powers to Kal-El yet, but the situation wasn't unsalvageable. Yet he didn't think the girl wanted him anywhere near her; perhaps he would be taken to a lackey instead. Modifying his plans instantly, he performed a damage assessment on the outcome. It would mean sacrificing a greater portion of Metropolis than originally expected, but the losses were within acceptable parameters.

It would also likely mean the death of Kal-El's father and lover.

Definitely within acceptable parameters.


	14. Chapter 14

Angela had been twenty when the demon first revealed itself to her. She had met it only a few times since, and most of those times had been in recent weeks. She had seen it in it's true form, but it usually appeared looking like a young girl. Strangely, each time it appeared it's body was altered slightly to make it look increasingly more attractive. It had gotten to the stage where the demon's beauty almost rivalled her own. Almost as if it were trying to impress someone…

Her usually tidy bedroom was currently in a bit of a mess, with clothes strewn about all over the place as she tried to figure out what she wanted to pack. One suitcase was almost full already, while another waited expectantly. She would have been finished by now, but she kept being interrupted by phone calls. A few work offers, but mainly updates on Perry White. Although she had been ordered to keep an eye on him, her time was too important to waste handling the situation directly. Fortunately there were plenty of people out there willing to spy on others. White's phone had been tapped, and presently there were two men watching his apartment from a building across the street.

They'd irritated her at first, giving her updates on absolutely everything – letting her know some woman named Alice had been round, telling her he was talking to an old friend on the phone, even informing her that he'd ordered Chinese takeout. She'd finally snapped, telling them only to contact her if they had something important to say. Eventually, they had – Perry had spoken to a girl named Chloe Sullivan on the phone, and the pair of them were coming to talk to her along with someone named Clark. Perry apparently wanted to warn her that she might be in danger, she heard with some amusement.

A contact had been able to tell her that Chloe Sullivan worked at The Daily Planet, where she was at the bottom of the food chain. Chloe had apparently been with Sophie the night she died, and seen the demon as it murdered several victims in the club. It was a pity Sophie had been killed, Angela thought as she carefully placed a magnificent red dress into a suitcase. She had never actually liked the girl much – she was quite irritating really – but she'd like the way Sophie made her feel about herself. Sophie reminded her how important it was to be one of life's winners. While Sophie struggled to find acting work, Angela's own career was going from strength to strength. True, it was her deal with the demon that had gotten Angela her own start in the business, but it was her talent that kept her there. It was.

She shuddered slightly as she looked out the window. It was out there, the doorway to another world, about to open and unleash creatures from her worst nightmares into the city. She felt a little sorry for the people who would be here when that happened. They were her people, after all. She helped them escape reality, through her films and through the way they followed her life. Young girls everywhere wanted to be like her, to have the kind of success and beauty she did. That was what Sophie had wanted, and Angela had filled her with false hope that she could one day have that.

Once the tragedy was over, she would help the survivors in their recovery. Money would be donated, sympathy given to those who had suffered. She would help them rebuild their lives. And, she conceded, it wouldn't do her image any harm at all.

It was important to be one of life's winners, and Angela planned on remaining one forever.

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Clark's mind was racing as he took Professor Fine to where the others were. He felt ashamed of himself for doing this to the man, but he didn't have much of a choice. He finally thought he might have a plan, but for now he needed to buy himself a little time. His days as a student were essentially over, but if everyone made it through this alive, he could accept that outcome. Everyone would make it through alive, he swore to himself.

As he arrived back, Fine draped over his shoulder, he saw Chloe looking at him through the window, love and concern on her face. She looked so beautiful, so sweet and kind, in sharp contrast to his father who had a hateful smirk on his face. Just hang on a little longer dad, Clark thought. Was his father really aware of everything that was happening? He didn't want to think of how horrible that must be. His mother was still standing outside the car – he'd only been gone for about a minute altogether.

"Nice work, son," said Jonathan. "Put him on the ground."

Carefully placing Fine down beside the road, Clark stared into his father's eyes. There was no trace of humanity there at all.

"I've done what you wanted. Now give me my father back," said Clark.

"Clark, darling, I'm hurt. You wouldn't rather have me instead?" said Jonathan in a teasing voice. It was incredibly disturbing to hear his own father talking to him in that way.

"That's enough!" yelled Martha. Clark couldn't remember her ever sounding so angry before. "Give me back my husband and leave our family alone!"

"You can have Jonathan for now. I may need to borrow him again later," said Jonathan coldly. "Thanks for your help, Clark. I know you're angry, and I know right now you hate me. That will change in time. Soon all this will be a distant memory."

Jonathan's eyes closed, and when they re-opened he looked like himself again. Except he looked older than his years, and his eyes had a haunted look about them.

"Careful, Clark. Remember how it fooled us last time," said Chloe. Clark nodded absently, but he was sure this time it really was his father. The creature hadn't fooled him at all last time. His father was back, and right now he needed him.

"Dad, I'm so sorry," he said, putting a hand on Jonathan's shoulder. Martha snuggled up against them both, holding back tears.

"Not your fault, son," said Jonathan weakly. He even offered a smile, trying to show his family he was alright. Clark knew he wasn't, but also knew Jonathan would put everyone else first. While the three of them embraced, he couldn't help but notice Gabe and Chloe sitting awkwardly up front. He hoped his secret hadn't driven a wedge between the pair. In a time like this, they needed each other. Gently pulling away from his family, he opened the front door and ushered Chloe out. She looked at him, confused for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her and held her.

"Whatever happens Chloe, I'll protect you. No matter what," said Clark. "I have an idea about how to put an end to all this."

"Really? What is it?" Chloe asked, hope glimmering in her eyes. Clark shook his head.

"It might still be listening. Just trust me. It'll all be over soon."


	15. Chapter 15

As she got back into the car, Chloe could see Gabe looking at Clark with some surprise. She didn't know what he was thinking, and didn't ask. An uncomfortable silence had come between them.

"We'll have to try to squeeze the professor into the back with us," Clark announced. His father was still tied up, and hadn't asked to be released. He knew he could potentially be a threat to them.

"I don't know, Clark," said Chloe. "We were told to leave him there."

"No, we were told to put him there. It never said anything about what to do after that. We can't just leave him by the side of the road."

"You think it's nearby?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't want to take any chances. There are a lot of people in the area, and it could be disguised as any of them."

Picking up Milton Fine, Clark put him into the back of the car, propping him up. They just barely all managed to fit, though it didn't exactly look comfortable.

"So you just ran all the way to Metropolis and back?" asked Gabe. "In one minute?"

Clark cleared his throat, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Actually, it was probably more like a second. The rest of the time I was knocking out the professor," he said.

Chloe started the car again, while her father tried to get his head around what he'd just heard. And he still didn't know the half of it. Her mind wanted to wonder, but she kept her concentration firmly on the road. A part of her expected the creature to run out in front of them, perhaps with bits of Sophie still caught in it's mouth, and try to finish the job it had started…

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The actual drive to Metropolis took rather more time, and Clark realised with some frustration that everyone in the car knew his secret (save for the unconscious professor) and he still couldn't use his powers. Well, he could have sped into Metropolis again, but that would leave everyone without his protection. Jonathan was fast asleep, having informed Gabe first that they would all sit down and have a good long talk once all this was over. He also asked him not to judge his family too harshly. Gabe, with none of his trademark good humour, had told Jonathan to get some rest.

When the lights of the city appeared in the distance, Clark began to consider how desperate his plan really was. True, the creature had finally made a mistake – it wasn't completely omniscient, as it had at times appeared. But he was still had no idea what it really was, what it's intentions were for him, and what it's ultimate goal might be. Was the man who knew his secret a form of the creature, or a separate entity entirely? Did Angela really know something as Chloe suspected? He wasn't convinced of that himself.

Regardless, as they pulled up in the car park Perry White had indicated they should meet at, he knew his plan had to wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow at the earliest, he realised with some dismay. And every day he might be forced to wait was another day everyone close to him was at risk. Chloe flashed the car lights and shortly after Perry White wrapped at the window, startling her.

"Didn't mean to scare you," said Perry as Chloe rolled down the window. "Uh, I also didn't mean for you to bring quite this many people, Chloe."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Listen, are we good to go?" asked Chloe.

"Actually, I was – Kent, why is your father tied up in the back seat?"

"Someone played a prank on him," said Clark lamely as he got out of the car. "He's fine though."

"You know son, powers or not, you're still one weird farmboy. Regardless, it's good to see you again," said Perry, offering his hand. Clark took it, making his handshake firm, but not so firm that Perry's hand would be crushed. "Disappointed to hear you quit the reporting game."

"Maybe I'll get back to it some day," said Clark. Well, he needed something now his college career was over. Attacking a professor was not his proudest moment, whatever the circumstances.

"You think you're on to something with the Angela angle?" asked Chloe, trying to draw Perry away from the car. The less he dwelled on that situation the better, Clark thought.

"Well, I know I'm doing something right," said Perry, smiling. "I think I'm being followed."

Turning his head slightly, Clark scanned the area. He found a couple of guys further up the road, sitting in a car. One of them was talking on a phone. There could have been an explanation, but Clark decided to take a listen in on the conversation.

"…just met up with the girl now. I assume the other one is Kent."

"Keep up the good work," said a smooth voice on the other end. Clark recognised it immediately. His mother had rented one of her dvds to watch with Jonathan once. His father had complained to Clark for several days afterwards. So Angela was having Perry followed.

"You don't sound too worried," said Clark, readjusting his hearing. He'd heard all he needed to from there, and he had to make sure he knew everything that was going on back with his folks, Gabe and Fine.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Perry. "It's a sure sign I'm on the right track."

"You need to be careful, Perry," said Clark. Perry rolled his eyes.

"Comes with the territory, kid. Honestly, Sullivan, I can only imagine how he treats you," said Perry, putting his hands in his pockets as he led the way.

"Actually, the bottom rung of The Daily Planet isn't really that dangerous. At least not normally," she added hastily.

"Well, this isn't exactly a normal situation," said Perry thoughtfully. "The papers are loving it of course. There are two things that sell newspapers: Celebrities and tragedies. A celebrity tragedy is the jackpot in this business."

"I've never been much interested in celebrities myself," said Clark.

"You were friends with Lex Luthor," snorted Perry. "Anyway, the sad truth is Kent, someone like you might save a guys life one day, but it'll be forgotten the next. Just because print is forever doesn't mean people remember. But celebrities? People lap them up, can't get enough. For the reading public, there is no longer such a thing as too much information."

"So what do you know about Angela?" asked Chloe, trying to steer the conversation back around to the task at hand.

"More than I'd like – I don't enjoy reading that stuff myself. But I have to give the public what it wants. You're about to meet her for yourself. Always assuming we get through the front door," said Perry, nodding at a large building in front of them.

888

Not so far away, the second person infected with the demon's blood was sitting in the back of a cab. The driver was talking away to himself about such and such a person he'd once given a lift. The infected person couldn't have cared less. They were presently tempted to stick the knife they had concealed into the back of his neck.

But the driver was not the sacrifice the demon required. That honour belonged to another.


	16. Chapter 16

Perry might not have been concerned as he approached the guard at the gate, but Clark most certainly was. If Angela was having Perry followed, it probably meant she was in league with the creature behind all of this. If that were true, Angela might well know his secret – and his weakness. While there was no kryptonite in Metropolis (unless Lionel still kept some) it could easily have been brought here. His arrival, after all, was not exactly unexpected… He shook his head to try and dismiss the thought. The truth was he didn't know what this thing was capable of, and it was making him see threats everywhere. He could only fight what was in front of him.

"I'm sorry sir, but Miss Hunter isn't accepting guests at this time…"

"Perry White, investigative reporter," declared Perry, slightly pompously Clark thought. "I interviewed Angela before, and want to do a follow up…"

"That's great, but like I said: she isn't accepting…"

"Look son, we need to talk to her. We have reason to believe she may be in danger…"

"Listen buddy…"

Chloe stepped forwards to intervene as Clark wondered whether one man would ever get to finish a sentence.

"Tell her we know how her friends Felicia and Sophie died," said Chloe coldly. The guard stared at her for a second, hesitating, before picking up the phone next to him. Dropping his voice so no-one but Clark could hear, he explained the situation to Angela.

"Send them in," she said, not sounding at all pleased. The guard pressed a button and gestured for them to go in as the gates swung open.

"I would've gotten us in, you know," said Perry, sounding almost like he was sulking. A man opened the front door and told them to stay in the hall. Using his x-ray vision, Clark did a quick sweep of the mansion. There didn't appear to be any surprises waiting for them. He could see that Angela was heading along the corridor upstairs. In the room she'd just come from he could see two suitcases, one packed and another looking almost ready to go. Looked like she was going on some kind of trip…

"A pleasure as always, Perry," said Angela, descending the stairs. "And who might your friends be?"

"I think you know already," said Clark, staring into her eyes. Angela tried to match it, but blinked first.

"We've met before? Come to think of it, I do seem to recall seeing you somewhere…"

"We were at your party," said Chloe. "Quite a memorable night."

"Yes… it was terrible," said Angela. "I'm still in shock. Really, Perry, this will have to wait for another time."

"I got a good look at your face, Angela. There was no emotion on it at all when you watched your friend break her neck. You just looked… you just looked annoyed," hissed Chloe through gritted teeth.

"Like I said, I was in shock," said Angela. Clark knew she was treading carefully, trying to work out how much they knew, how much they only suspected. For now he was content to take a step back and let Chloe try to learn something. He wasn't sure what he would do if she couldn't – the interview might have to turn into an interrogation.

"If I could just have a word with Chloe for a moment," said Perry with a huge false smile. He grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. Perry began talking in what he obviously thought was a whisper, but Clark didn't need superhearing to hear what was being said.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Perry, she isn't a victim here. She knows what's going on, and I'm going to find out everything she knows."

"That's ridiculous. Exactly what kind of proof do you have?"

"I can't prove it any more than I can prove there's a tooth fairy, but I KNOW it's the truth."

"Why didn't you mention any of this before…"

Angela was staring coldly at Chloe, and jumped when Clark placed his hand on her shoulder. He wouldn't hurt her, no matter what she had done, but it wasn't a bad thing that she didn't know that.

"Going somewhere nice?" he whispered in her ear.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped, shrugging him off.

"You've packed two suitcases. I could tell you the entire contents of them, if you like. You're not the only one who can spy."

"You've really crossed the line," she said breathlessly, backing away from him. He was aware that Chloe and Perry had stopped bickering and were now looking directly at him. Back at the car, he could hear Martha and Gabe making scattered conversation. He wished they would keep talking. Although it distracted him, it also told him things were alright. The periodic silences worried him too much.

"What is it Angela? I can protect you from it. Just tell me what it is," said Clark raising his voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Yes, you do," said Clark, stepping towards her menacingly. "We have you on tape talking to it in one of it's other forms." He was bluffing, even guessing, but he was desperate. "So what is it?"

"Liar! Get out of my house!"

"We're going to expose you for who you really are. It's going to be on the front pages. But we can make a deal with you. Tell us what it is, and we'll give you all the evidence we have."

"Clark's interview technique needs a little work," said Perry, stepping between them. Clark brushed past him.

"This is your last chance," said Clark, then paused. Gabe and Martha were talking about him, back at the car.

"I'm serious, Martha. Once all this is over, Clark is never to see Chloe again."

"Gabe, you need time to…"

"Mrs Kent?"

Clark frowned. Angela was screaming for security, the veins on her neck throbbing as Perry tried to calm her down. But he was only very dimly aware of this, because the third voice he'd heard was Lana's. And he instantly knew what that meant. With one glance at Chloe, brief but enough to fill him with desire, he began to tell her that he had to go. Before he could though, she had nodded. She had read him perfectly, as usual. While he wanted nothing more than to sweep Chloe off her feet and take her away from all this craziness, to have her curl up next to him and feel her touch, he couldn't do that.

Speeding out of the mansion as Angela and Perry were distracted, he hurried to try and stop Lana before it was too late.

888

"Fancy seeing you here," said Lana, peering into the car. Her hands were carefully placed behind her back. Not to hide the knife, which was concealed up her sleeve ready to slide into action, but to hide the meteor rock the demon had instructed her to bring. She was not to use it to kill him, she had been told. He must only be exposed for as long as was necessary. No longer.

Clark would come, and she would be ready.


	17. Chapter 17

Clark wasted no time as he headed back to the car, but the creature's relentless efforts had made sure he did one thing: kept thinking. Although it was tempting to give into fear and simply charge blindly on, he knew what might lay ahead for him. So instead of going straight there, he took a giant leap to the roof of a building ahead. Once he would never have dared such a thing, but he now had so much control over himself in the air it was almost as though he were flying. Landing on exactly the spot he had envisioned, he turned his head towards where he had left the others. He had no time to marvel over his precision.

The creature knew about his powers, knew about his secret, and most importantly right now, knew about his weakness. So as he zoomed in with his special vision, he wasn't surprised to see that Lana was holding kryptonite. She was now possessed just as his father was. He realised with dismay that now anybody could be turned against him, be it friend, family or stranger. And he had no way of knowing until they moved against him. His mother or Chloe could be infected as well, and he didn't know. He was threatened from all sides, a deck of cards all stacked against him. But for now he endured, and his heart would not let him quit.

As he had learned in the past, using his heat vision against kryptonite could be potentially dangerous. The beams could rebound of the surface, and if that happened Lana or anyone nearby could get seriously hurt. Thinking quickly, he realised his options were limited, but there might be a way. He did, after all, have quite a throwing arm. Speeding to the ground, he seized a piece of loose stone he found, sizing it up. His time playing football had boosted his confidence immensely, and he was certain he could make the throw. The risk was high; if he misjudged, the stone could strike Lana in the face with incredible force, and she'd be killed. But circumstance demanded he take the chance. He had to put his trust in the belief that his parents and Chloe had in him.

Winding his arm back, he focused on the target and threw over-arm. He watched the stone move forwards in slow motion; if it looked like he had misjudged, he could speed in and try to intercept it. But as it went, he knew he had gotten it just right.

Lana didn't even have time to blink as the stone struck the side of the meteor rock in her hand. Her grip was tight, but Clark's throw was too powerful for her to keep it. Instead it scraped across her hand and went hurtling off. Satisfied the kryptonite was now at a safe enough distance, Clark charged in. Striking Lana on the back of the head, she sagged forwards and was caught in his arms.

Over at Angela's mansion, he could hear Perry and Chloe being escorted from the building. It seemed like they were safe for now, but the trip had apparently been a wasted one. He could try and pressurize her some more – he was sure he'd almost gotten her to crack – but they'd already barely dodged a bullet or two. The best thing to do now was to get everyone back to The Kent Farm, and hope that he could end all this tomorrow. He realised that was going to be easier said than done. With Lana now dragged in to this, there wasn't going to be room in the car for everyone.

Except that's when he realised Professor Fine was missing.

888

As he returned to the warehouse where his equipment was stored, Brainiac wasn't surprised to find all of it was gone. There were scorch marks on the floor. Most likely the creature had tried to have it destroyed, but didn't have the ability to do so. Instead it had taken it. It didn't realise that it didn't matter; Brainiac already knew the creature had lost. Pretending to be unconscious had been a good way of gathering information, and he knew from the things Kal-El said that the creature was no longer acting logically. Incredibly, it was giving in to human emotions. Everything the creature did informed him of one thing: that it had feelings for Kal-El. He had at one point considered capturing it for study, or even to tame as a pet for Zodd. But now he was content for it to be destroyed. He already had something of it to study anyway, and perhaps it would prove useful. While Martha Kent and Gabriel Sullivan had been busy bickering over Kal-El's pointless relationship with Chloe, he had used his speed to isolate and extract the tainted blood present in Jonathan Kent's system. He was curious as to what he might learn from it, and also wanted to remove any dangerous influence the creature might have over Kal-El.

It was ironic, he observed in a detached manner, how the creature was becoming weak while it made Kal-El a more dangerous enemy. Nevertheless, he would be nearby to sweep up whatever mess Kal-El left behind. Doubtlessly, things would be coming to a head quite soon.

888

Clark didn't sleep at all that night, instead remaining awake watching over everyone in The Kent Farm. Perry White, baffled at Chloe and Clark's behaviour, had returned to his own home without being offered much by way of an explanation. He already knew Perry wouldn't leave it there though. The man was every bit as relentless as Chloe. He was thinking over what Gabe had said to his mother about never seeing her again when Chloe joined him.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, sitting back on the couch.

"I feel safe knowing you're watching over us, Clark," she said, lying down next to him. "But who's watching over you?"

He kissed the top of her head and held her even after she'd fallen asleep. They stayed like that until morning, and for awhile, he even managed to feel at peace.

When the sun rose, he gently pushed her away. His hearing told him everyone else was still asleep. Gabe was presently snoring and occasionally muttering in his sleep. It was finally time for him to confront this thing then. He looked down at Chloe, looking at peace for the first time in a good while. He was still tempted to wake her; he had a bad feeling about what lay ahead. But he left her be.

A glance at his watch told him his first college class of the day started in ten minutes. He doubted Professor Fine would be there to take the class. He still had no idea what had happened to the Professor. A scan of the area had revealed nothing. It seemed impossible that Fine could have gotten too far away unless the creature had taken him. But if it had been there, wouldn't he have heard it? Apart from a few brief moments when confronting Lana he'd been listening the whole time. And if it had been there, why send Lana in the first place?

When he'd went to college the previous day, he'd been trying to continue on as normal. Today, he knew that was impossible. As he ran to his class, he thought it was too much to hope for that it would be there. After all, it had to be thinking there was no way he would show up today. Surely after everything it had put him through it had to know that.

But there it was. Standing right outside the class, looking confident, looking around as though waiting for someone. Waiting for him.

"Hey Clark," she said, smiling at him. "You're early today."

He offered Sarah a false smile, trying to hide the anger he felt. Even after everything, it was still going through with this charade. He couldn't begin to imagine why. But it worked out perfectly for him. They were the only ones here yet. He was going to get her into that classroom, and he was going to kill her. He'd never take a human life, not on purpose, but there was no way this thing was human. Not even close.

"Yeah, I got all my farm chores done early," he said, walking past her into the empty class. She followed him in, and Clark made sure to shut the door behind her. He remembered how her eyes had put him in mind of kryptonite. She'd told him she was just as deadly as it to him.

That had been true, but she'd also told him something she hadn't meant to. When she'd possessed his father, she'd told him to take out Milton Fine. Fine had apparently run across something connected to her during his Luthorcorp research... or so it told him. Fine had found something alright. Hadn't he just warned Clark to stay away from Sarah because of it? But Sarah didn't know that. Sarah knew his secret… and he knew hers.

As she turned her back on him, Clark made his move.


	18. Chapter 18

Sarah never had a chance to react as Clark swung furiously at the side of her head. He knew it had recovered quickly from his attack last time, and he was aware it would take a lot more than one hit – even from him – to finish it off. Except things didn't go as he'd planned at all.

The back of her head exploded. Clark watched it happen in slow motion, confused beyond belief at what he was seeing, before being overcome with horror. Bits of Sarah's skull flew past his head, making a horrible clacking noise as they struck the wall behind him. Little droplets of blood hung in the air, and his hands were stained red. His mouth hung open in shock. He caught her as she fell, already knowing there was nothing he could do.

"What have I done?" he asked, knowing there was no-one around to respond. He'd been so certain Sarah and the creature were one and the same… so certain. He cradled the dead girl in his arms, tears forming in his eyes, overcome with revulsion for what he'd done. There was no way back from this.

Unless… unless it was a trick. Could it be fooling him, even now? Desperately, Clark held back the tears and used his X-ray vision. The girl's heart had stopped dead. He had struck with incredible force, and he'd killed a person. Perhaps Sarah had been another puppet of the creature, someone else tainted by it's blood, but it didn't really matter. Either way, she hadn't deserved that. He could never be forgiven for what he'd done. He could never put it right.

Gently sitting her down, he closed her dead eyes, trembling as he saw the blood in her hair. Just like what had happened a few years ago, when he'd inserted a kryptonite key into his spaceship, killing his mother's unborn child, someone had died because he hadn't thought things through.

Lost in despair as he was, he never saw Sarah sitting up behind him, completely healed…

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Jonathan awoke with the feeling that things should be back to normal by now, that the horrible nightmare he'd had would now be over. Things would be as they always were, and everything would be just fine. Except as he felt the rope around his waist, and saw Lana tied to a chair next to him, he knew they were still living it.

"Lana?" he said, his mind still not fully awake. The girl turned to look at him, looking confused and not a little scared.

"Do you feel it?" asked Lana, sounding breathless.

"Feel what?" asked Jonathan, who felt only his tight restraints.

"It's coming, Mr Kent. It's heading right for us. Aren't you infected as well? Don't you feel it?"

She was close to hysterics now, and Jonathan didn't blame her. He was holding himself together for the sake of his family, but if not for them he was quite sure he'd be a wreck by now. It seemed impossible that he hadn't felt it earlier, that sense of wrongness. He'd been tainted, taken over by a power so horrible, so immense, that even his son couldn't counter it. Except for some reason, he didn't feel it now either. He remembered what it felt like, remembered a fair bit of what had happened, but he felt different now.

He had a moment to wonder if Lana now knew Clark's secret – as if they didn't have enough to worry about with Gabe – and then a young girl appeared in front of them. He had the feeling he'd seen her before, but couldn't fully remember the encounter.

"Clark!" Jonathan shouted, in case his son hadn't heard her enter. It had happened so fast. But Jonathan didn't know if Clark was still here or not. For all he knew, everyone was already dead. Please, God, don't let that be true…

The girl – Sarah, his mind recalled suddenly – smiled at him.

"He belongs to me now," she said, circling the pair. "I could kill you both, but you may still have some use."

Jonathan watched with dim horror as her hands suddenly changed shape. One moment they were normal, quite small and delicate, the next they had twisted into a strange claw shape. She used them to tear through the ropes binding them both.

"Meet me in Metropolis, both of you. I'll give you further instructions there."

Lana nodded at once, a picture of obedience. But Jonathan felt no need to follow that order at all. It was strange; before he'd been utterly powerless, had no choice but to follow it's orders… After a moment's hesitation, he nodded as well. He didn't understand it, but somehow he wasn't under it's influence any more – and it wasn't aware of that. It nodded, satisfied, and vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. He had to check and see if Martha was alright. As if thinking of her being hurt wasn't bad enough, he thought of the potential dangers of what Sarah had said. He belongs to me now. Could Clark be controlled just like them?

"Go downstairs, Lana," he said. Lana looked at him with some surprise, and he knew he couldn't let her know he wasn't being controlled. "I have other orders to follow first."

She stared at him for a moment, and he was afraid he had blown things already. Finally she nodded and strode out of the barn. Jonathan waited a moment to make sure it wasn't a trick, and then retrieved the meteor rock they kept stored in case they were ever forced to use it against Clark.

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And in Metropolis, the rift that Dan had once kept an ever vigilant eye on began to swell. Whereas once Dan had been one of the only people who could see it, it now was visible to anyone, growing huge like a towering inferno. Cars stopped, the passengers watching with almost comical bewilderment as a fire swooped right out of the air and consumed them where they stood. A tiny black dot appeared in the centre of the flames, and began to expand as the fire spread outwards, scorching the earth as it moved. In the centre of the darkness, an eye opened. The few people nearby who had not been consumed by the fire began to hear a strange booming sound that at first they could not recognise. Gradually, it's rhythm began to become familiar, and they knew what it was – it was a heartbeat. A gigantic heartbeat.

Something emerged from the darkness and passed unharmed through the flames.

Others followed.


	19. Chapter 19

Mankind was slow to learn some lessons, and the demon was learning Clark Kent still had something in common with them. Even a child was capable of understanding the simple idea that if you put your hand into fire, you got burned. Since fire normally couldn't hurt him, he'd touched the flames that ran along the bars of his cage. He'd pulled back instantly, gasping with pain as the demon paced back and forth. He should have realised that the fire was born of the demon's magic, thus making it harmful even to him. Yet despite the fact that he must now know this, he kept reaching towards it.

"Even if you could get out of there, Clark, where would you go? The whole world is your cage now. Wherever you go, I'll follow. There's nowhere for you to run," she said casually. It took an effort for her… for it to control its emotions. Milton Fine was still out there somewhere, and although it had taken his equipment, it doubted that would be his last move. It had hoped that Clark would kill him in the heat of battle, but Fine had opted not to reveal his true power to the boy.

"I'm not interested in running," said Clark, staring at her menacingly.

"My brave boy," it said, giggling. "But you can't stop me now. The rift has already been opened, and with your own girlfriend's blood."

"What have you done?" asked Clark, his voice breaking. The look he gave her was murderous, it noted with pleasure.

"Oh, she's still alive. What happens next is entirely up to you."

His eyes looked to the floor for a moment, trying to cover what he was about to do, but it was too late. The demon had already read his intentions, not that they would do him much good anyway. It stood perfectly still and waited as his heat vision erupted from his eyes, fire shooting through the gap between the bars. The beams hit their target with incredible intensity in a sustained burst. The sheer force of them drove it backwards, but as Clark eventually noticed, the fire wasn't hurting it at all.

"I'm a demon, Clark. Fire can't hurt me," it said, smirking at him.

"Damn it!" yelled Clark, hitting his fist against the floor. The whole building shook around them, and the demon narrowed it's eyes.

"Careful now. I know your angry, but believe me, you want to start behaving. If you don't, I'll be the one who gets mad. And my fury is something terrible to behold," it said, circling the cage. It was being driven almost crazy with desire, it realised. It was so close to Clark and his incredible power – power that would soon be it's to wield – that it's lust was becoming insatiable.

"Where's Chloe?" he asked weakly. He looked defeated in that moment, but the demon wasn't fooled. Giving up was not in Clark's nature, and he would try and catch it off guard if he could.

"I'll bring her to you," it said, and strode out of the room. The girl was being kept nearby, but not so close that Clark would easily be able to find her with his special vision. Clark was a prisoner on the third floor of an abandoned apartment building, and as the demon made it's way outside, it revelled in the chaos reigning outside. The city of Metropolis was being overrun by all manner of monstrosities. With it's enhanced senses, the demon could hear screaming coming from the direction of the rift. The rift itself was now visible all across the city, and creatures were still coming through. As the rift expanded, buildings were consumed by it, along with anyone that might still be inside. Not even Fine could stop it now, surely.

Thoughts of the professor made her furious for a moment; she dug her nails so hard into her hands the palms bled. He would pay for his interference. She knew now that it was Fine who had exposed her to Clark somehow. She had not planned to reveal her true nature to him so soon, much like Fine himself.

"But he'll pay," she informed the burning city below. "Just see if he doesn't."

Leaping to the street below, she walked unharmed through a crowd of rioters, who were presently using whatever weapons they could get hold of against the dog-like creatures that were attacking them. One swung a metal bar at the dogs head, snapping it slightly to the side, before the dog bit his leg off just below the knee. A shadow passed overhead; the demon observed the giant serpent casually as it smashed itself against the side of a building, tearing half of it down.

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Clark's cage was small, and he barely had enough room to stand up straight. Movement was almost impossible without catching the flames, something he'd prefer to avoid as much as possible. Although the situation had seemed hopeless at first, he now thought he knew a way out. But like he'd told what he now knew was a demon, he wasn't interested in running. He would wait until the time was right, and then try to end this.

It was then that he heard something smashing against a building outside. The force of it shook the one he was in, and if he hadn't been almost immoveable himself, he would have fallen against the side of the cage. He had time to wonder what on earth was going on out there, and then the demon was back. She was still in her 'Sarah' form, but he now knew what it really looked like. It was the same thing he'd seen in the Metropolis nightclub, and beating it wasn't going to be easy.

Chloe was hanging lifelessly from it's arms. He could hear the sound of her breathing, the sound of her heart beating, so he knew she was alive. But she didn't look good. Deep cuts had been made across her body. He could see the ones on her face, and could see some through her torn clothes. The demon had savaged her mercilessly. He tried to talk, but the words caught in his throat.

"I know this is hard for you to see, Clark," said the demon, laying Chloe's unconscious form on the ground. "But she can be repaired, if you will it. You already know I can heal her. Give yourself to me willingly, and I'll do it. And I won't ever harm her again – you have my word. All you have to do is kiss me. Just one kiss, and Chloe lives."

A lot of things began to make sense to Clark, and he realised he knew what the demon was saying was true. He didn't think the demon would harm her at all – because if he kissed her, if he gave into her now, it was going to make him do it.

"What choice do I have?" he asked in a whisper. The demon gave him a guarded smile… it didn't trust him, he realised. Which still didn't mean it could stop what he was about to do. "Kiss me then. I don't care what happens to me, as long as she lives."

"There's my good boy," she said, stepping forwards. Her hands touched the bars of his prison, unharmed by the flames. She pressed her face against the bars, and as he moved his own closer, he realised that Sarah was some horrible amalgamation of Chloe, Lana and Alicia. Like the demon had tried to copy all of the women he'd been most attracted to. Realising that made her look horrible, even considering her true appearance. He went forward, pursing his lips, and then swung his head backwards. His heat vision erupted again, and as the demon's eyes widened in surprise, Clark fired twin beams towards the ceiling. They hit the stone above, and pushed through to the floors above. The demon had time to snarl furiously, but moved too late as the ceilings from each floor collapsed on top of the pair of them. The weight impacting the top of his cell broke it apart, the flames diminishing completely. Clark watched as the demon was struck a huge pile of stones and disappeared beneath the rubble. A few stones bounced harmlessly off him, and he sped over to Chloe's side. Her pulse was weak, and he held her close to him.

"Don't give up on me now, Chloe," he whispered, trying to wipe some of the blood away. He heard an inhuman shriek behind him as the demon powered it's way up from underneath it's prison. It's wounds began to heal, and Clark saw the fury behind it's eyes – fury that was about to be turned in his direction.

Stepping protectively in front of Chloe, all too aware now that something outside was terribly wrong, Clark prepared himself for the battle ahead.

They charged at each other.


	20. Chapter 20

With rage consuming it completely, the demon's initial assault was easy for Clark to avoid, and as he ducked under a wild swing he unleashed a flurry of blows to it's midsection. The fact that his opponent wasn't thinking properly worked to his advantage, as the demon shouldn't really be trying to fight him at close quarters, he knew. It's strength lay in using it's magic from a distance, and if it did that he might well be finished. Also, his own ranged attack, his heat vision, was essentially useless against it. He meant to stay close to it and try and finish it before it realised what was happening.

Which wasn't going to be easy. A quick left and right hook to the demons head rocked it, but didn't take it down. Although the face bloodied as he connected, he could already see the wounds beginning to heal. He struck again, his right hand racing towards it's jaw but this time it read the move and grabbed his hand at the wrist, stopping it dead. Before he could break free it pulled him in towards it, connecting with a solid left jab of it's own. He staggered back, feeling a slight sting on his cheek but otherwise unhurt. Smiling, the demon launched a quick successions of kicks at his head. He avoided the first two, snapping his head away from it's foot before he was caught in the chest. Grabbing his shoulders, the demon initially managed to overpower him, tossing him back into the wall. Feeling a large part of it collapse behind him, Clark ran forward and leapt, catching his opponent off guard with a shoulder tackle which sent it spinning. Before it could recover he launched another series of punches, chaining together a combination a prize fighter would have been proud of. The demon howled with pain and staggered, but still remained on it's feet. Now it was Clark's turn to grab hold of it, and though he tried to hurl it backwards it managed to somewhat hold it's ground.

"You can't win, Clark!" it roared, determination clear on it's face. Instead of continuing his efforts, Clark decided to try something else, and moved one foot forward. Sweeping the demon's legs from under it, he caught it as it fell and drove it's back into his knee. The demon howled in agony and Clark heard a sickening cracking noise. Grabbing it again, he tossed it through the wall, bricks exploding everywhere as he dashed to shield Chloe. Once he was certain she was safe, he leapt out of the newly made hole to the ground below, the earth shaking slightly as he landed. The demon's body began to change before his eyes, transforming from a young, puny looking girl into the ape-like creature he'd seen back at the club. It's skull protruded from it's forehead like a Neanderthal. Clark made to advance, before noticing red sparks appearing from the creature's hands. Realising it's intentions, he threw himself to the left, rolling on his shoulder and ducking behind a car as a fireball was hurled towards him. It struck the car, causing it to explode in front of him. He was partially caught by the blast, but unlike the fire the demon threw at him, this was harmless. Exposed now, he leapt into the air as the demon readied a second blast. Adjusting it's aim, hoping to catch him as he landed, it was caught by surprise as Clark slammed his fist into the ground. The road around the demon's feet shook and the ground twisted, a crack racing through the earth as if caused by an earthquake. Losing it's footing, the fireball went wild and then Clark pressed forwards again.

He started throwing punches again, this time aiming at every part of his adversary's body, hoping to find some weak spot, or simply to mangle it's body beyond repair. For a moment he was lost in the battle completely, and then he noticed the rift hanging over the city. And the things that were coming out of it. As he begin to see the manner of creatures that they were, he realised the whole city was under threat. He had to…

His thoughts were cut off as the demon caught him with both fists, smashing down on him like a hammer, driving him into the ground which collapsed around his feet. Shrugging it off, he clambered out and was surprised as a car was swung straight at his head. The force it was swung with was immense, and he was lifted off his feet. As his head shot back he saw the demon grasping it like it was the world's most hastily improvised baseball bat. Before he had even landed, the demon had tossed it aside and caught his foot as he hovered in the air. Swinging him around like in a hammer throw, it let go as it hit the peak of it's momentum, hurling him high into the air. He burst through a window high up in a building across the street and went right out again on the other side. He tried to halt himself and found he couldn't. Cursing himself, he realised every moment he wasn't attacking the demon was a moment it was healing it's wounds. Landing hard, he forced himself right back up and sped back into the fray. Except the demon wasn't alone anymore. A swarm of creatures emerged behind it, spreading out to avoid it before converging back in again. Their minds seemed to operate as one, and dozens of the things that had emerged from the rift were now shielding the demon.

While the rest were running right at him.

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Angela had been in the air for a couple of hours she awoke with a slight start. She'd been having the most terrible nightmare. In her relief at having woken up, it took her a few moments to realise there were two things wrong with her present situation. The first was that there wasn't anyone else around. That wasn't so strange though; this was a private flight, and the only people on board were the pilot, an attendant and one of her bodyguards. The attendant was presumably at the back of the plane, and the bodyguard was probably using the bathroom. (The pilot was flying the plane of course, ha ha.)

Except she was certain there was something else wrong, something she couldn't quite place. She just couldn't think straight with that damn scratching noise coming from the overhead compartment where one of her bags was stored. She sat back and thought for a moment, before cursing herself. There was nothing wrong, of course; she was just stressing herself needlessly. The fact that Metropolis was presently being destroyed was perhaps affecting her more that she'd expected. Perhaps she should relax herself with a drink of two before landing. Flying always made her feel slightly uneasy anyway.

She was about to summon the attendant when the scratching sound began to get even louder. It was only then she began to wonder what the hell was in there. She almost opened it herself before realising what a potentially foolish move that might be. Pressing the button that would summon the attendant, she looked around to see if her bodyguard had gotten back yet. No sign of him, and the attendant didn't arrive either, even after she pressed the button again.

The scratching sound became a banging sound. Whatever was in there wanted to get out. Scratch. Bang. Scratch. Thump.

It really wanted to get out. A small trickle of fear ran up Angela's spine.

"Where the hell are you?" she shouted, twisting in her seat. There was no response, not even a scratch or a bang. Whatever was in there fell silent at the sound of her voice. Maybe it was just my imagination, she told herself, running a finger across her lip in a nervous gesture.

With one final effort, the compartment door burst open and she gave an involuntary shriek. Hanging by it's claws on the edge, the strange bat creature appeared to almost be grinning at her. Screaming now, Angela made to get up before finding she was still fastened to her chair. As her trembling hands tried to release the seat belt, the bat spread it's wings and flew forwards, scratching the side of her face. Repulsed by it's touch, she redoubled her efforts and finally managed to free herself. She tried to run to the back of the plane, but tripped and rolled onto her back. The bat swooped down, hovering in front of her face for a moment – before one of it's claws casually plucked her right eye out of the socket. Howling in agony and sobbing with fear, her hand went instinctively to cover the empty socket as blood erupted around it. Her free hand lashed out almost of it's own accord, a survival instinct taking over her actions, and smacked the outstretched left wing of the bat. It snarled, trying to stay in the air with it's one remaining good wing, before falling into her lap. Pushing it off with disgust, it began twirling horribly on the floor before Angela brought her foot down on it's head, crushing it's skull.

"Help me!" she shrilled, fear and anger in her trembling voice. She could see the remains of her eye lying next to the horrid creature. Standing up she looked around with her one eye, trying to locate someone else. The plane wasn't so large that no-one would have heard. She began to make her way towards the toilet, with plans both to have the bodyguard killed at some point and also to fall sobbing into his arms, when she realised what else was wrong here.

The plane had left Metropolis flying east. They were now flying to the west.

Complete terror seizing her now, she ran to the front of the plane. She expected the door to the cockpit to be an impossible barrier to pass, but instead it opened easily. The pilot's blood was smeared over the front of the plane, but that wasn't what scared her the most. In fact, it barely even registered. Because out of the front of the plane she could see the rift across Metropolis, and the plane, now presumably on autopilot, was heading straight towards it.

She had to get off the plane. Staggering backwards, dimly aware that she had no idea how she was going to go about that, she headed up towards the door. Presumably there were parachutes on board somewhere. She had played a stewardess once in one of her earlier roles, and now wished desperately she'd done more research. With her mind focused entirely on getting off the plane, it didn't immediately occur to her that the bat couldn't possibly have killed the pilot.

That honour belonged to something else. As she searched desperately for a parachute, horribly aware she had no idea when you were supposed to open one once you were out, a low rumbling growl came from the back end of the plane. It was slightly muffled, as though whatever it came from had something in it's mouth. As she turned her head, she saw a large dog making it's way towards her. Her bodyguard's arm was in it's mouth, almost seeming to be waving at her. The dog carried it like a trophy. Angela watched open mouthed as it advanced on her. The demon had betrayed her, but that didn't matter right now. She would survive this.

Even with only the one eye, Angela saw it all too well. It was shaped like a dog, certainly, but it had no fur. Horrible purple veins pulsed all over it's body, and it's eyes were yellow and mad. As it spat the arm from it's mouth, she could see it salivating. Whimpering, she slowly slumped against the door, pleading for her life. She knew the dog in front of her wouldn't listen, but the demon, if it could hear, might.

"I did everything you wanted! Please don't do this. You can have it back, all of it! I don't have to live forever, I don't have to be a star, I'll be your servant if that's what you want JUST MAKE IT GO AWAY!"

The dog growled again, almost sounding like a throaty chuckle this time and then it lunged at her. At the last second, Angela rolled out of the way, causing the dog to slam it's considerable bulk against the door of the plane. Angela had a moment to consider what had just happened, her eye bulging with horror as the door to the plane was torn off. The dog howled as it went flying off the plane, and as she tried desperately to grasp hold of something, anything, Angela went tumbling out after it with a scream that lasted a very long time indeed.

Perry White had his celebrity tragedy.

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Not that he would have had much time to care at the moment. As all hell broke lose around him, he quickly established his priorities and began to act. He was quietly surprised that one of these did not involve taking a drink. If any situation was going to separate the serious drinkers from the amateurs, it was probably one like this.

Instead, he phoned Alice. He planned to do whatever it took to get her out of the city safely, no matter the risk to himself. He plucked up all his courage, determined to see her all right, before he learned she was visiting relatives out of the city. She told him he had to get out of there, get out of there right now, and although it would be some years before they married, she certainly sounded just like a wife right then. He had to pluck up even more courage to disobey her – he had something else to do. His job. Reporting was like the alcohol too, something almost impossible to give up, and there was nowhere else he could be but with the story.

Getting into his car, Perry hurried towards the crazy thing that had opened up above his city.

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One of the creatures charging towards Clark Kent veered off course. The demon had given it different instructions, and it obeyed without question. It would carry these orders out alone, and in truth it was only one that was required. The demon planted a destination in it's mind, and it headed there with a single minded purpose. As Chloe Sullivan began to wake up, the creature headed to kill her.


	21. Chapter 21

Taking a step back, the demon watched as it's army charged towards Clark. The kryptonian's resolve never faltered. Two of the creatures emerged at the front of the pack, one a creature that looked the bstard child of a human and a spider. Clark swatted it aside effortlessly before catching the second, something which resembled a dog but was in reality something far worse and snapping it's neck in his hand. The demon watched him do this with pleasure, and noted how revolted Clark was with his own ruthlessness. The rest of the group spread out, forming a circle and surrounding him. With great effort, the demon changed it's form back into that of Sarah, the girl she had created just for Clark.

This was difficult for two reasons; the first was that once the demon's bloodlust took over, it almost never faded until it's opponent had been utterly decimated. Reasserting control of itself took all of it's willpower, and it was alarmed at how badly it had wanted to destroy Clark in the heat of battle. That wouldn't have done at all. It had already put itself at great risk to keep him alive, and it wasn't about to lose him now. The second reason was that it was getting tired. Even the demon had it's limits, and it had been using it's considerable power for too much at one time. Whereas before the transformation would have been seamless, now it entered a brief but noticeable transitional stage. Clark's eyes widened as he observed it; as one shape faded from the demon it became soft and jelly-like, unable to hold a true form for a moment, instead appearing more as a lump of clay waiting to be moulded. It took a great deal of effort to force a new shape out of it, but within a few moments Sarah had emerged once more. It forced itself not to scream, unwilling to show Clark any vulnerability, even for a second. A cold smile formed on it's lips.

"I'm sorry, Clark," she said sweetly. "Sometimes I forget what a… temper I have."

"What have you done to Metropolis?" demanded Clark, eyes looking everywhere at once in anticipation of an attack.

"When hell is full, the dead shall walk the earth," said the demon. "With us to guide them, they will take back the world that was once theirs. The earth that each generation brings ever closer to destruction."

"Us?"

"You and I, of course. Together, we will bathe this whole planet in blood. We're going to wipe humanity off the map, and build a new empire. It was always your destiny to rule this world, although I doubt this was exactly what your father had in mind. I love you, Clark. Once my blood flows through your veins, you'll come to love me in return."

"You don't love me. How could something like you even understand what love is? All you want is to use me, use my abilities. Well my father doesn't control me, and YOU WON'T EITHER."

Dashing forwards, scattering the demon's abominations like toys, Clark reached out to grab her. Determined to bring him in line, the demon readied it's magic. It was a calculated risk, but one it felt it had to take. If it allowed Clark anymore leeway, it could find itself dangerously weakened. Except Clark then did something it didn't expect; he used his heat vision. At first, it was genuinely baffled – hadn't it already shown him fire was useless as a weapon against it? Then it began to realise he wasn't trying to hurt it. He was only trying to move it. He was using the force of the beams to force it backwards. As it tried to dig in, Clark suddenly charged forwards. Too late, the demon realised his intentions.

In that moment, it felt something close to panic for the first time in it's long existence.

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With the demon committed to battling his heat vision, Clark began to run towards it. He didn't stop the blast until the last possible moment, at which point he grabbed the demon by it's shoulders and threw it with all of his strength. If it ended up in orbit that might be all to the good, but that wasn't what he intended. If his aim was true, the demon was going back home. The rift, he knew, was a doorway. The first time he'd become aware of it, he hadn't been able to see it. He'd only been able to hear the screams of the people trapped inside. If only he'd known what it was sooner.

The rift had begun to open at a point in the sky, and if it had remained there the grounded Clark Kent would have had a great difficulty in dealing with it. But to accommodate the army emerging, it had stretched all the way to the ground. At the last moment before the demon went through, Clark noticed the strange transformation occur again. A disgusting fleshy substance surrounded the demon before it changed shape. The last thing Clark saw was it change into a kind of hawk-like creature, and try to use it's wings to halt it's momentum. Then it had passed back across the rift.

If Clark didn't hurry, it would be back soon enough. Moving as fast as he could, he ran to the doorway and prayed to anything that might listen that his powers were going to be of some use here. Wrapping his arms around the doorway, he began to try and pull the two sides together. At first, nothing happened, and he feared trying to close the gap between dimensions was too much even for him. He'd come so close only to fail at the last. Any second the demon would be back, and then…

Finally the two sides began to move closer, Clark screaming with effort. The veins on his neck looked about ready to explode. His arms were actually shaking as his strength didn't seem to be enough. Trying to force the door closed was like trying to force together two magnets that were repelling each other. Known for his stubbornness, Clark refused to quit. He was making some progress when something shot out of the rift and covered his face. For a moment he thought it was the demon, that it was all over, before he realised it was some kind of bat. It's claws raked against his face but failed to break the skin. With a blast of his heat vision he sent it back to it's prison.

Redoubling his efforts, knowing the stakes all too well, he realised the doorway was draining his powers. Being in contact with it was almost like being around a slightly less intense version of kryptonite. He had to close it now or it would be too late. As it collapsed in on itself slightly, he wrapped his arms right around it, digging his feet in. He was making progress at last when a hand shot out of the gap and grabbed him by the throat.

888

As Chloe slowly came around, she tried to adjust to her new surroundings. The last thing she remembered was a girl appearing at Clark's house and taking her to Metropolis. She'd been powerless to resist. Once there, she had changed from that of a young girl to that of… well, that of a demon, she supposed. She couldn't remember exactly what it looked like, and as someone who paid attention to details, that was surprising. All she knew was that it's true form wasn't that of an ape-like monster any more than it was that of a pretty girl. From there, it had raked her body with it's claws, rendering flesh from her body. She'd expected there to be almost nothing left by the time it was done. She shivered as she remembered the torture.

The wounds were still there for her to see, and she could feel them burning. Poison, she thought dimly. It's claws were poisonous, and right now that poisons in my blood. Is it killing me?

It was certainly making it hard for her to think, but as she surveyed the damage done to the building, she began to make a few connections. Ceiling collapsed + wall gone + Chloe alive Clark rescue. Except where was Clark now?

Click clack.

A horrible sound reverberating through the building stopped her train of thought. Something was heading her way. She could hear it advancing along the corridor, it's feet (if that's what they were) catching a perfect slow rhythm. Click clack. Click clack.

The only way out was back through the corridor, unless she fancied trying the way out Clark had improvised. Except while Clark would have landed unharmed (God, she hoped he'd landed unharmed) she would probably drive her leg right up through her shoulder or something.

Click clack.

Not that she wasn't tempted to try anyway. Still, she was a girl of almost infinite resource. She'd gotten out of tougher situations than this. If she put her mind to it, she'd find a really clever way out that even Clark wouldn't have thought of.

Click clack clickclackclackclick

"CLARK!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

888

Jonathan gave a start as he heard Chloe scream. If he'd been driving, he would likely have crashed right there and then, killing himself and Lana in the process. Fortunately, though it was his truck they were in, Lana had gotten wordlessly behind the wheel. He didn't think he'd have been able to drive this far anyway. It was taking an incredible effort to keep his hands from shaking. They actually had trembled once he'd seen the… things that were overrunning Metropolis. This whole thing was a nightmare that kept taking him to new depths. The only thing keeping him sane was the fact that Martha was back home unharmed, and the fact that his son was still out there somewhere and needed him. He didn't intend to let Clark down.

"Stop the car," he said, and Lana looked at him with a frown. They hadn't spoken at all on the drive here. Any attempt to reason with her would have resulted in his certain death. "You keep going. I'm needed elsewhere."

"Where, exactly?"

"We were told to come to Metropolis. Now you go your way, I go mine."

"You're being called," said Lana blandly.

"Yes," said Jonathan, relieved. He knew his behaviour was suspicious, but Lana had no reason to doubt his loyalty. He had no idea how he had gotten his freedom back himself. She slowed and let him out before speeding off almost before he even got the door closed. He had a moment to be absolutely certain his truck was going to get smashed again (and if that was the worst of it, that was just great as far as he was concerned) and then he was running in the direction of Chloe's voice. He could see her standing and waving like crazy trying to get someone's attention. He couldn't tell for sure at this distance, but he thought she looked cut up pretty bad.

Sprinting into the building and heading for the stairs, feeling like his already overworked heart might explode at any second, he felt certain that his son would show up. But Clark apparently belonged to the demon now. As he entered the floor Chloe was on, he caught sight of a potential weapon on the floor. He'd come equipped to take his son down if necessary, but not much else. The iron pipe was perhaps not perfect against whatever he might be up against, but it made him feel slightly better all the same.

"Chloe?" he called out, advancing cautiously. If he were up against the same thing that owned his son, that had once had it's own blood running through him, he didn't think the pipe was going to help much.

"Look up!"

Bemused, Jonathan looked up, and dangling from the ceiling (what was left of it anyway – most of it had collapsed somehow) was one of the most bizarre creatures he'd ever seen in his life. The thing that struck him was how much hair it had on it's head. Long dark hair that ran in a grizzled fashion almost to it's feet. Lex Luthor would have been envious.

It's limbs were impossibly long and thin, and it's skin was grey and stretched over the bones loosely. As his eyes tried to take all this in, it dropped from the ceiling and landed on top of him. Instinctively bringing the bar up protectively, Jonathan shoved it between the creature's teeth. It's bony legs struck his body furiously, but he was making things awkward for it. As it struggled, he saw Chloe pick up a rock from the collapsed ceiling and throw it at the monster's head. It turned to her, climbing off Jonathan and snarling. As it turned, Jonathan hurried up and swung he bar furiously at it's head. As it fell he brought it down again, grabbing Chloe by the hand and running again. He was already out of breath, but there'd be time to recover later. If they didn't go now breathing would not be a burden to him any longer.

888

The doorway had gotten so small now that the demon was having to try and force it back open to fit through. It was managing this with greater ease than Clark; apparently it wanted to be open. With his strength drained, Clark struggled to remove it death grip. The demon was squirming, trying to force it's body through the gap. Clark could see it trying to change it's form again, trying to make itself as thin as possible. Each transformation seemed to be more difficult for it. He managed to grab it's wrist and force it to let him go, and as it did he sidestepped and brought his hands together in an earth shattering clap. The rift, caught between his hands, finally collapsed on itself, and as it did neatly sliced the demon in two just above the waist. Panicked screams erupted from it's throat and it began rolling frantically on the ground. Clark fell to his knees, reaching his physical limits now. Not too long ago he'd asked Chloe not to give up on him, now he was asking his body to do the same. Resolve, however, was no longer enough, and as he watched the demon began repairing the damage done to it. The soft flesh he'd seen in it's transformations now snaked out where it's torso ended and began to create new legs for it.

With his powers all but gone, at least temporarily, he realised he had a big problem. Fighting the demon as an equal had been difficult… fighting it like this was impossible. He'd closed the rift, and he was sure the police (or maybe the army) could handle most of the creatures. But if the demon survived, all that would likely mean nothing.

Now the ape-like creature again, it looked at him with twisted affection… and, he felt, maybe a little respect. As he tried to get to his feet, a simple task that felt incredibly difficult right now, he was grabbed from behind.

"Hello Clark," hissed Lana. To put his situation in perspective, he was now having trouble overpowering Lana Lang. Lana propped him up as he collapsed, and he watched with bemusement as the demon opened it's mouth and bit right through it's own tongue. Blood erupted from the wound, and it didn't take him long to realise what it intended. It was the demon's blood that had infected Lana and his father, and now the demon was going to infect him too.

It was going to kiss him and force him to drink it's own blood, like he were a vampire or something. He had just one idea, and to him it felt utterly desperate rather than clever.


	22. Chapter 22

Author's Note: So here we are with the final chapter of what's been a very fun story to write the past few months. I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who's been reading it. While I'd certainly have kept writing it even if no-one had, I do appreciate people taking a moment to comment. So thank you kindly, and I hope you enjoy the conclusion.

The demon's foul breath brushed across Clark's cheek as he turned his head to one side. Blood dribbled down the front of it's mouth, seeming to bubble as though possessing an acidic quality. Lana hoisted him up and he resisted the urge to fight her. The more powerless he looked now the better chance he had. Of course, he wasn't certain he had much strength left anyway. Sirens could be heard blaring in the distance, but he wasn't holding out for a rescue. While many of the creatures were attacking in random patterns, some were grouping together to launch more organised assaults at those trying to assist.

"Wait," he panted, struggling to draw air into even his mighty lungs. "Please… if you're going to do this, don't do it looking like that."

He paused, still struggling to catch his breath, as the demon titled it's head to one side. It gave what sounded roughly like a chuckle.

"If it has to be like this… do it as Sarah. She's… you're… beautiful," he said, wincing with pain. Being in contact with the gateway for so long had taken a heavy toll on his body. "You created her just for me, right? You said once you didn't want me to see you like this, so please…"

It regarded him for a moment, and as he stared back at it he noticed it's eyes – demonic, hideous – soften just a little. As he readied himself, it began to transform again. As soon as it entered the transitional stage, Clark made his move. Swiftly breaking free of Lana's grip he swung his elbow up, catching her under the chin and knocking her backwards. She bit her lip as she fell, blood trickling from it. He'd tried to avoid hurting her as best he could – she was still Lana – but he had no time to check on her. This would be his final chance. As the demon began to understand what was happening, in a panic it began to alter it's shape as if trying to carry out three transformations at once. Weakened, Clark wasn't moving at full speed, but with the demon in a confused state he swung his fist forwards in time. Whereas it's body had previously provided an almost impenetrable shell, the fleshy substance was as soft as it had looked. His fist plunged in and he pushed it through, using his x-ray vision to guide it towards the creature's heart. Around him the disgusting mass of tissue began to shift and wobble uncontrollably as the demon tried to force a transformation.

"No, you CAN'T –" it roared as a mouth appeared on the side of the blob. "You can't do this you son of a BTCH!"

His hand settling on it's dark heart, Clark's face twisted with revulsion. The heart began to pulse ever quicker in his hand as terror overran the creature. Then everything around him went crazy.

888

Jonathan didn't look behind him as he fled the building along with Chloe. He didn't exactly need to; he could hear the monster using it's long limbs to move itself forwards, bounding after them. The gap between them was closing all the time, and he feared the next time it leapt it would land on either himself or Chloe. Over the years he'd come to like journalists less and less; in his book, they were almost as bad as Luthor's. He'd seen little humanity in them. They appeared interested only is finding ways to exploit other people. Perry White and Roger Nixon had both tried to break stories about Clark, with little thought as to how this would destroy the boy's life – indeed, the lives of the whole Kent family.

Chloe however, was an exception to this. In her own way, she was just as incredible as Clark. While Clark used his gifts only to help others rather than fulfil his own ambitions, Chloe would never use the knowledge she had to expose Clark. He wondered if Gabe knew just what an incredible young girl he had raised.

As he dragged her around a corner, he had a moment to notice that the horrific doorway he'd seen upon entering Metropolis had closed. Which either meant that it had exhausted it's supply of monsters… or that Clark had intervened.

"You think Clark…" began Chloe, before the creature cut her off. It had them cornered. Jonathan stepped protectively in front of Chloe as it stalked forwards, leering at them with it's nightmarish face. It's eyes had a yellow tint that focused on them like a pair of headlights. Jonathan didn't notice this however – he was focused on the very real pair of headlights racing forwards. The creature had just a second to notice this too, before Perry White's car slammed into it at high speed.

Yelping, it rolled over the bonnet before crashing into the windshield, which cracked with the impact. Perry slammed the car to a stop, almost skidding out of control before recovering skilfully.

"What the hell?" asked Perry as he scrambled out of his car.

"Mr White, what are you doing here?" asked Chloe sharply, before realising he'd just saved their lives. No matter how many times your life might be saved – typically by a tall, handsome alien – it wasn't the kind of thing you should start to take for granted. "I mean uh, thanks for saving us."

"Yeah, just like I planned," said Perry, sounding slightly dazed.

"Don't think we don't appreciate it, but this is the worst part of the city to be in now. Your car's not in great shape, but it'll still work, and you might want to…" said Jonathan.

"You want it, be my guest," said Perry, tossing him the keys. "I need to get to that thing in the sky."

"Perry, listen to me," said Jonathan sternly, placing his hands on the man's shoulders. Perry appeared to be running on autopilot at the moment, and Jonathan needed to try and snap him out of it. "Chloe's hurt. She needs to get to a hospital right now. I'd take her myself, but my son is still out there."

"No," said Chloe, stepping forwards. "I'm not going anywhere until I know Clark's safe."

"I need you to trust me, Chloe. Go with Perry. You'll take her, right?"

"Sure," said Perry, blinking as though he wasn't seeing things properly. Jonathan considered for a moment that Perry might be drunk, but he hadn't smelled anything on his breath. "Listen, Mr Kent, I don't think you should be strolling around here looking for your son. The army is on the way. They have contingencies for every possible situation."

"I'm sure that's true, but I don't think this particular situation applies. Objection noted – now I'm going to find my son. Will you be alright, Chloe?"

"I'll be fine," said Chloe, looking worn-out. "Just find him. Please."

Jonathan nodded, trying not to show how uncomfortable he felt. If Clark was under the creature's control, he was going to have to use the meteor rock against his own son. It was a lot to ask of a father. Perry ushered her into the car, seeming to be coming around a little now that he was responsible for someone other than himself. Jonathan wondered if the man had some kind of death wish driving out here. As Perry drive away, Jonathan turned began to run to where he'd seen the doorway before it had closed. If Clark was still himself, that's where he'd be. He passed the decimated ruins of buildings and mutilated corpses as he went, trying not to look too closely. If he did, he was afraid his mind might snap.

From the corner of his eye he saw Clark. His son's arm was buried in a strange mountain of flesh, which Jonathan regarded with horror. What the hell was it? As he moved to try and help his son (having no idea how he might go about this) someone swept his legs out from under him. Landing hard on his back, he looked up to see Lana Lang standing over him, her pretty face possessing a hitherto unseen rage. She kicked him in the teeth as he tried to get up, and as his body jerked the meteor rock he'd brought fell out of his pocket. Lana seized it quickly, booting him again for good measure, before turning the rock on Clark. Jonathan watched as his son fell to his knees. The strange flesh-creature began to retreat from him, it's shape twisting and growing. A hideous shadow began to emerge in it's place, and he shivered as a cold wind swept through the streets, catching his cheek like a perverse kiss.

Chloe leapt onto Lana from out of nowhere, catching her hard in an improvised football tackle Coach Teague would have been proud of. The rock fell from her hand as the wind was knocked out of Lana, and Jonathan grabbed it like a drowning man seizing a line. Throwing it as far as he could, he scrambled to see if Chloe was alright.

888

The demon had almost escaped Clark's death grip when the kryptonite went out of range. Several pairs of arms appeared in front of it, all of them grabbing Clark's hand and trying to force him to release it. Twisting his body, Clark swung his other fist forwards, trapping it in the centre of the demon's hideously bloated form. A dragon-like head appeared in front, and Clark gave one final roar of defiance as the demon prepared to blast him into oblivion with fire from it's mouth. His hand snaked up towards it's heart, the two of them racing each other. Clark kicked out with all the strength he had left, catching it hard and buying himself the extra half second he needed. His hand wrapped the demon's heart triumphantly, and as fire leapt from the demon's mouth he squeezed as tightly as he could. The flame's died inches from Clark's face as the demon roared in pain. It's heart exploded in Clark's hand, disgusting him almost to the point of insanity. The dragon head and multiple arms receded, and the flesh-like cocoon that surrounded the monster began to decrease in size.

But it still wasn't over.

888

The demon's spirit fled it's dying body, it's mind hurling every insult under the sun in Clark Kent's direction. As it no longer had a mouth, it had no way to communicate. It realised now what a mistake it had made. Clark had been wrong. The demon most certainly did love him. It had treated his heroics with an almost affectionate indulgence. Twice it had tried to kill Gabe Sullivan, and twice Clark had thwarted it. It should have ended things much sooner. It's love for Clark had brought it only weakness, and now almost it's own end. But the demon was beyond the realm of death, and it would have it's revenge. Clark Kent would spend a thousand years regretting what he had done. Even the demon could not repair the damage done to it's body now. It could not make a new body – but it could take one.

It couldn't posses just anyone, but there were two perfect candidates nearby. As the demon had become more used to a feminine form, it swept towards Lana, insanity taking hold in it's frenzied state. Something blurred in front of it, but it wouldn't be stopped now.

888

When Clark sped up, he found himself capable of seeing everything happening around him. He saw his father trying to help Chloe to her feet, saw every creature that had come through the void turn to him as the demon's heart was stopped, saw the shadow rise from the demon's corpse. It looked at him with utter hatred. He wasn't sure how he knew this, since it had no face as such, but it was something he felt. Then it turned to Lana, and snaked forwards. Clark began to move, but the demon was fast and he still wasn't at full speed. It lunged forwards and attached itself to her face. The two of them seemed melded to one another, Lana's skin stretching horribly like rubber as it was pulled by the demon. Clark could see it trying to force it's way into her head, and then he leapt in between them.

888

It was in! Clark had tried to interfere, it was certain, but this time he had failed. It would be the work of mere moments for it to assert control over the girl, and then…

Something was wrong, it realised. It should have been able to see out of the girl's eyes, but instead it could see only darkness. Panicking, it tried to move to the front of her mind, only to recoil as it struck an invisible barrier. Every direction it tried to move in was blocked. It realised with horror that it wasn't in Lana's mind at all. It was in Clark's. And without it's blood infecting him, it was unable to control him. It tried desperately to flee his body, but only succeeded in battering itself against the mental barriers in Clark's mind. It began to scream. Only Clark heard.

888

It was the next day before Clark was able to visit Chloe in the hospital. Gabe had been very insistent that Clark not be allowed in to see her, although he had listened in at times to ensure she was alright. They'd managed to flush the poison from her system, he heard with some relief. They also had no idea what it was, and he didn't think they ever would.

"How are you doing?" he asked as Gabe moved aside to let him in. He held out a bouquet of flowers he'd bought for her, and she took them gratefully.

"Apparently, I'm going to be fine. I'm surprised you weren't here sooner. I've already had Perry White drop by about five times to ask for an interview."

"Well, uh…"

"My dad stopped you from coming."

"Listen," said Gabe, coughing awkwardly. "I'm not terribly proud of the way I've acted since… since this whole thing started. But I've seen for myself what a good… uh, man, you are. And it's thanks to you and your father that my daughter is alive right now. So what I'm saying is…"

"What he's saying is that he and I talked last night, and basically he's starting to see things my way," grinned Chloe.

"How'd you manage that?" asked Clark.

"I'm getting the hang of dealing with stubborn men," winked Chloe.

"I hope not," said Clark, kneeling down at her bed and kissing her forehead. She responded by sneaking upwards and kissing his lips, tongue slipping down his throat as Gabe turned his head away. When they finally separated, she spoke to him in a whisper.

"Is it still in there?"

"Nope," Clark smiled. "We made sure it's gone from all our lives. For good."

The smile faded quickly, and he shivered as he remembered what it was like having the demon inside his head. It's insane, ranting voice yelling at him to kill those he loved. And all the time, feeling it clawing at the back of his mind, trying to find a way out…

"We?"

"Once I took care of all the monsters on the loose, I went to see Jor-El. Fortunately he was able to separate us, and he banished the demon's essence to the Phantom Zone. It won't be coming back.," said Clark.

"So things are finally back to normal. Or an approximation thereof. You really took care of all those monsters by yourself?"

"Well, it's strange actually. The police took care of some… but it kind of seemed like someone else was helping out. Someone else with special abilities."

"If that's true, we sure could have used their help earlier."

"Yeah. I wonder who it was?"

888

Clark waved to Chloe as she blew him a kiss from the bottom of the barn. Pretending to catch it, he brushed it against his cheek and smiled. Her wounds had mostly healed, and things between them were moving forwards at a speed befitting a kryptonian. It was a little scary… but mostly he thought it was pretty great. Gabe gave him a quick wave from his car. As they drove away, Clark was glad Chloe's father was becoming part of the family. Chloe constantly moaned about the embarrassing stories he told about her – turned out she kept a few things secret too – but he thought she was mostly pretty glad.

"Good evening, Mr Kent," came a voice from behind him. Clark turned, eyes wide with surprise as he recognised Professor Milton Fine.

"Professor? You're alive? I was afraid you might be…"

"Dead?" smiled Fine. "I can handle myself, fortunately. I kept myself hidden until I was certain it was safe to show myself again. I kept in contact with a few people. I understand from my colleague that you haven't been attending classes lately."

"I'm dropping out. I attacked and kidnapped a Professor. Frankly, I wouldn't blame you if you brought charges against me. All I can say in my defence is that people close to me would have died if I hadn't done it."

"What happened that night will stay between us, Clark. On one condition: you resume taking my classes again first thing tomorrow."

"Of course," said Clark, surprised. "But aren't you angry because of what I did?"

"Not at all," said Fine smoothly. "It's good to know just how far you'll go to protect those you care about."

END


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